UC.SB    LIBRARY 

X- 50  7.1 


(7 


(7 


\ 


FOLK  AND  FAIRY  TALES. 


BY 


P.   CHR.   ASBJORNSEN. 


TRANSLATED    BY 

H.    L.    BR^EKSTAD, 
WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  EDMUND  W.  GOSSE. 


SEVENTH      EDITION. 


NEW  YORK : 

A.   C.   ARMSTRONG    &    SON, 
714  BROADWAY, 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION xiii — xviii 

AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE i 

THE  LADS  WHO  MET  THE  TROLLS  IN  THE  HEDALE  WOOD  ....  ig 

MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES 25 

THE  LAD  AND  THE  DEVIL 36 

THE  MAN  WHO  WAS  GOING  TO  MIND  THE  HOUSE 40 

THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST 45 

THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART 52 

THE  PANCAKE 62 

A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES 68 

THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER 94 

THE  SEVEN  FATHERS  IN  THE  HOUSE 108 

BRAVE  OLD  BRUIN in 

MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES 114 

THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVII 132 

THE  THREE  BILLY  GOATS  WHO  WENT  UP  INTO  THE   HILLS  TO 

GET  FAT 141 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

PETER  GVNT J45 

LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL 15 T 

THE  LAD  AND  THE  NORTH  WIND 162 

ASHIEPATTLE  AND  THE  KING'S  HARES 1 68 

MACKEREL  TROLLING    .... 180 

PEIK 194 

FOOLISH  MEN  AND  SCOLDING  WIVES 203 

THE  PARSON  AND  THE  CLERK 206 

THE  GIANT  AND  JOHANNES  BLESSOM 209 

THE  Box  WITH  THE  FUNNY  THING  IN  IT 214 

THE  WIDOW'S  SON 215 

EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON 227 

ASHIEPATTLE  WHO  MADE  THE  PRINCESS  TELL  THE  TRUTH  AT  LAST  .  243 

AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN 248 

HANS  WHO  MADE  THE  PRINCESS  LAUGH 269 

A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST 277 

THE  WITCH 295 

THE  CHARCOAL  BURNER , 308 


INTRODUCTION, 


7 


INTRODUCTION. 

THREE  names  in  the  living  literature  of  Norway  may  be 
said  to  have  escaped  from  the  provinciality  of  a  narrow  home- 
circle,  and  to  have  conquered  a  place  for  themselves  in  the 
general  European  concert.  Two  of  these, — Ibsen  and  Bjornson, 
— are  borne  by  professional  poets ;  the  third  is  that  of  a  mar. 
of  science  whose  irresistible  bias  towards  literary  style  may  be 
said  to  have  made  a  poet  of  him  against  his  will.  The 
novelettes  of  Bjornson  and  the  comedies  of  Ibsen  belong  to 
the  tradition  of  imaginative  art,  but  the  stories  of  Asbjornsen 
a  selection  from  which  is  here  introduced  to  the  English  public, 
in  some  sense  inaugurated  a  new  order  in  literature.  Here  in 
England,  where  our  poetical  language  has  been  repeatedly 
renewed  at  the  fresh  wells  of  the  vernacular,  where  Chaucer 
and  the  Elizabethans,  Butler,  and  Burns,  and  Dickens,  each  in 
his  own  way,  have  constantly  enriched  our  classical  speech 
with  the  bright  idioms  of  the  vulgar,  we  can  scarcely  realise 
how  startling  a  thing  it  is  when  a  great  writer  first  dares,  in 
a  ripe  literature,  to  write  exactly  as  people  commonly  speak 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 


This  is  what  the  author  of  these  tales  has  done  in  Dano- 
Norwegian.  He  has  cast  to  the  winds  the  rules  of  composition, 
the  balance  of  clauses,  the  affected  town-phrases,  and  all  the 
artificial  forms  hitherto  deemed  requisite  in  Danish  prose,  and 
he  has  had  the  courage  to  note  down  the  fine  idiomatic  speech 
of  the  mountaineer  in  its  native  freshness.  So  much  for  the 
outer  form  of  these  stories,  a  husk  which  our  translation  must 
needs  crush  off  and  winnow  away,  but  which  adds,  in  a  native 
ear,  much  sweetness  and  strangeness  to  the  narrative. 

To  understand  the  inner  worth  of  the  tales,  we  should  know, 
perhaps,  something  of  their  author's  career.  Education  made 
him  a  zoologist,  but  nature  stepped  in,  and  claimed  him  for 
a  poet ;  he  has  dutifully  stretched  out  a  hand  to  the  one 
fostermother  and  to  the  other.  Peter  Christen  Asbjornsen  was 
born  at  Christiania  on  the  I5th  of  January,  1812.  Of  his  life  at 
school  his  biographers  have  told  us  nothing,  and  yet  there  must 
be  something  worth  telling  about  it,  for  there,  when  a  very 
little  boy,  he  met  a  child  still  younger  than  himself,  with  whom 
he  formed  a  close  friendship  that  has  lasted  ever  since,  and  has 
left  strong  traces  on  his  intellectual  development.  This  friend 
was  the  charming  lyrical  poet  Jorgen  Moe,  now  Bishop  of 
Christianssand.  Before  they  were  twenty  years  of  age  these 
boys  began  to  put  down  in  writing  the  bogie-tales  and  old- 
wives'  fables  which  they  had  heard  in  the  nursery,  and  as  many 
more  as  the  folks  around  them  would  consent  to  recollect. 
The  pastime  became  a  passion  ;  whenever  they  went  out  fishing 


cf^ I 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 


or  made  a  walking  tour  up  into  the  mountains,  the  fondest 
object  of  the  journey  was  to  coax  a  story  out  of  every  peasant 
whom  they  met.  Asbjornsen  soon  surpassed  Moe  in  the  width 
of  his  experience ;  his  profession  was  one  which  took  him 
habitually  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other,  whereas 
his  friend,  with  a  genius  perhaps  more  naturally  attuned  than 
his  to  the  music  of  mountain  and  cascade,  settled  down  as  a 
country  parson  into  a  narrower  and  more  humdrum  circle. 
Yet  it  is  Moe,  and  specially  in  that  delightful  study  of  his 
entitled  Blind  Anne,  who  has  given  us  the  most  complete  and 
vivid  sketch  of  the  mode  in  which  the  friends  collected  the 
materials  for  their  books.  In  1838  Asbjornsen  first  made  public 
the  results  of  his  investigations,  very  shyly  and  timorously,  in 
a  little  publication  for  children,  called  Nor.  Not  until  1842 
did  the  first  authorised  edition  of  Norwegian  Folk  and  Fairy 
Tales,  collected  by  Peter  Christen  Asbjornsen  and  Jorgen  Moe, 
see  the  light  at  Christiania ;  it  gradually  became  widely  suc- 
cessful, and  was  followed  in  1871  by  a  new  selection,  from  the 
pen  of  Asbjornsen  alone.  In  the  mean  time,  as  early  as  1845, 
Asbjornsen  had  published  his  well-known  volume  of  Huldre- 
eventyr,  or  stories  about  the  nymphs  or  sirens  which  haunt 
the  high,  sparse  woods  and  mountain  dairies.  Of  these  also  a 
second  selection  was  printed  in  1848.  The  present  gathering  of 
tales,  therefore,  is  a  nosegay  plucked  from  these  four  gardens 
of  the  imagination,  wild  plots  full  of  strange  Alpine  blossoms, 
and  perfumed  with  the  wind  from  the  pine-forest. 

91  b 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 


Until    the    generation    now   lately    passed    away,    almost   the 
only  mode   in  which  the   Norwegian  peasant  killed  time  in  the 
leisure    moments   between    his    daily   labour    and    his    religious 
observances,  was   in  listening    to   stories.      It  was   the   business 
of  old  men  and  women  who  had  reached  the  extreme  limit  of 
their  working  powers,  to  retain  and  repeat  these  ancient  legends 
in  prose  and  verse,  and  to  recite  or  sing  them  when  called  upon 
to  do  so.     Such  minstrels  were  held  in  great  respect,  and  were 
found   in    every  parish.      Moe   has   observed    that   there   was   a 
certain    distinction   in   the   themes   selected    by   the   two   sexes  ; 
from  the  old  women  there  was  required  a  grim  or  melancholy 
class   of  story,  while  the   old    men    were    called    upon  for  more 
humorous    tales   and   staves.       Asbjornsen  and    Moe  were    only 
just  in  time  to  preserve   the   stories   from    extinction  ;    in  many 
districts    they    had    already    ceased    to    exist,    in    others    they 
remained  solely  in    the   memories   of  a   few  very  aged    persons. 
One   or   two   valleys   in   Thelemarken,    the   Assynt   of    Norway, 
that  district  at  the  back  of  Kongsberg  where    the  scanty  popu- 
lation still  shrinks  from  the  transforming  touch   of   modern  life, 
supplied  the  richest  treasure  in  folk-lore ;  wherever  the  explorers 
could  hear  of  belt-fights  within  the  memory  of  man,  there  they 
were  sure  of  being  on  the  edge  of  the  more  ancient  civilization, 
and  safe  to  find  the   rare  product  they  were  seeking.     On   the 
other    hand,   in    modernised    and     Europeanised    provinces    like 
Hardanger,  where   much  intercourse   by  sea  with  strangers  had 
destroyed   the  antique  isolation,  the  stories  were  less  abundant, 


INTRODUCTION.  xix 


less  genuine,  and  less  chaiacteristic.  It  was  from  minstrels  at 
bridal- feasts,  from  boatmen  on  the  fjords,  from  old  blind  vaga- 
bonds and  the  household  paupers  who  form  so  strange  a 
feature  of  a  Norse  peasant  community,  that  they  obtained 
most  of  their  best  stories  ;  and  it  is  a  significant  fact  that 
almost  all  these  professional  reciters  are  now  dead.  Had 
Asbjornsen  and  Moe  neglected  the  duty  of  preserving  the 
ancient  legends,  they  would  now,  in  all  probability,  be  lost 
beyond  the  chance  of  restoration. 

The  stories  must  now  be  left  to  speak  for  themselves.  Of 
the  wonderful  links  that  comparative  mythology  has  found  in 
them,  chains  that  bind  Norway  in  one  brotherhood  with  Ireland 
and  Germany,  with  Wallachia  and  Hindustan,  nothing  needs 
be  said  in  a  popular  selection  like  the  present.  The  stories 
are  charming  as  tales  of  primitive  Norse  life,  and  if  mythologists 
can  find  by  dissecting  them  an  undergrowth  of  ancient  history, 
that  is  an  additional  pleasure  for  them.  It  is  difficult  to  doubt 
that  though  Asbjornsen  is  himself  a  learned  saw  in  this  species 
of  science,  it  is  mainly  the  tale  that  has  delighted  him,  the 
quaint  wit,  the  savage  pathos,  the  intimate  and  tender  sympathy 
with  all  that  is  wild  and  solitary  in  the  nature  of  his  fatherland. 
And  as  a  literary  artist  this  is  his  highest  praise,  that  he  has 
contrived  to  lay  the  peculiarities  of  Norwegian  landscape 
before  his  readers  with  a  subtlety  of  touch  such  as  no  other 
poet  or  proseman  has  achieved — not  by  description  so  much  as 
by  a  series  of  those  sympathetic  and  brilliant  touches  which 


xx  INTRODUCTION. 


make  us  forget  the  author,  and  fancy  that  we  are  walking  in 
the  body  through  the  country  of  his  affection.  In  Asbjornsen's 
tales  the  English  reader  will  find,  in  its  quintessence,  the  genius 
and  temper  of  the  Norwegian  peasant. 

EDMUND  W.  GOSSE. 


AN    OLD-FASHIONED    CHRISTMAS    EVE. 


HE  wind  was  whistling  through  the  old  lime  and 
maple  trees  opposite  my  windows,  the  snow  was 
sweeping  down  the  street,  and  the  sky  was  black  as  a  December 
sky  can  possibly  be  here  in  Christiania.  I  was  in  just  as  black 
a  mood.  It  was  Christmas  Eve,  the  first  I  was  to  spend  away 
from  the  cosy  fireside  of  my  home.  I  had  lately  received  my 
officer's  commission,  and  had  hoped  that  I  should  have  gladdened 
my  aged  parents  with  my  presence  during  the  holidays,  and 
had  also  hoped  that  I  should  be  able  to  show  myself  in  all  my 
glory  and  splendour  to  th?  Sadies  of  our  parish.  But  a  fever  had 
brought  me  to  the  hospital,  v/hich  I  had  left  only  a  week  before, 
and  now  I  found  myself  in  the  much-extolled  state  of  convalescence. 
I  had  written  home  for  a  horse  and  sledge  and  my  father's  fur 
coat,  but  my  letter  could  scarcely  reach  our  valley  before  the 
day  after  Christmas,  and  the  horse  could  not  be  in  town  before 
New  Year's  Eve, 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


My  comrades  had  all  left  town,  and  I  knew  no  family  with 
whom  I  could  make  myself  at  home  during  the  holidays.  The  two 
old  maids  I  lodged  with  were  certainly  very  kind  and  friendly 
people,  and  they  had  taken  great  care  of  me  in  the  commencement 
of  my  illness,  but  the  peculiar  ways  and  habits  of  these  ladies  were 
too  much  of  the  old  school  to  prove  attractive  to  the  fancies  of 
youth.  Their  thoughts  dwelt  mostly  on  the  past,  and  when  they, 
as  often  might  occur,  related  to  me  some  stories  of  the  town,  its 
people  and  its  customs,  these  stories  reminded  me,  not  only  by  their 
contents,  but  also  by  the  simple  unaffected  way  in  which  they  were 
rendered,  of  a  past  age. 

The  antiquated  appearance  of  these  ladies  was  also  in  the  strictest 
harmony  with  the  house  in  which  they  lived.  It  was  one  of  those 
old  houses  in  Custom-house  Street,  with  deep  windows,  long  dark 
passages  and  staircases,  gloomy  rooms  and  garrets,  where  one  could 
not  help  thinking  of  ghosts  and  brownies ;  in  short,  just  such  a  house, 
and  perhaps  it  was  the  very  one,  which  Mauritz  Hansen  has  de- 
scribed in  his  story,  The  Old  Dame  with  the  Hood.  Their  circle 
of  acquaintances  was  very  limited;  besides  a  married  sister  and 
her  children,  no  other  visitors  came  there  but  a  couple  of  tiresome 
old  ladies.  The  only  relief  to  this  kind  of  life  was  a  pretty  niece 
and  some  merry  little  cousins  of  hers,  who  always  made  me  tell 
them  fairy  tales  and  stories. 

I  tried  to  divert  myself  in  my  loneliness  and  melancholy  mood 
by  looking  out  at  all  the  people  who  passed  up  and  down  the  street 
in  the  snow  and  wind  with  blue  noses  and  half-shut  eyes.  It 
amused  me  to  see  the  bustle  and  the  life  in  the  apothecary's  shop 
across  the  street.  The  door  was  scarcely  shut  for  a  moment. 
Servants  and  peasants  streamed  in  and  out,  and  commenced  to 
study  the  labels  and  directions  when  they  came  out  in  the  street. 
Some  appeared  to  be  able  to  make  them  out,  but  sometimes .  a 
lengthy  study  and  a  dubious  shake  of  the  head  showed  that  the 
solution  was  too  difficult.  It  was  growing  dusk.  I  could  not 
distinguish  the  countenances  any  longer,  but  gazed  across  at  the 
old  building.  The  apothecary's  house,  "  The  Swan,"  as  it  is  still 
called,  stood  there  with  its  dark,  reddish-brown  walls,  its  pointed 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


gables  and  towers,  with  weathercocks  and  latticed  windows,  as  a 
monument  of  the  architecture  of  the  time  of  King  Christian  the 
Fourth.  The  Swan  looked  then  as  now  a  most  respectable  and 
sedate  bird,  with  its  gold  ring  around  the  neck,  its  spur-boots 
and  its  wings  stretched  out  as  if  ready  to  fly.  I  was  about  to 
plunge  myself  into  reflection  on  imprisoned  birds,  when  I  was 


disturbed  by  noise  and  laughter  proceeding  from  some  children 
in  the  adjoining  room,  and  by  a  gentle,  old-maidenish  knock  at 
my  door. 

On  my  requesting  the  visitor  to  come  in,  the  elder  of  my  land- 
ladies, Miss  Mette,  entered  the  room  with  a  courtesy  in  the  good 
old  style ;  she  inquired  after  my  health,  and  invited  rne  without 
i  B  .? 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


further  ceremony  to  come  and  make  myself  at  home  with  them 
for  the  evening.  "  It  isn't  good  for  you,  dear  lieutenant,  to  sit  thus 
alone  here  in  the  dark,"  she  added ;  "will  you  not  come  in  to  us  now 
at  once  ?  Old  Mother  Skau  and  my  brother's  little  girls  have  come ; 
they  will  perhaps  amuse  you  a  little.  You  are  so  fond  of  the  dear 
children." 

I  accepted  the  friendly  invitation.  As  I  entered  the  room,  the 
fire  from  the  large  square  stove,  where  the  logs  were  burning  lustily, 
threw  a  red,  flickering  light  through  the  wide-open  door  over  the 
room,  which  was  very  deep,  and  furnished  in  the  old  style  with 
high-backed  Russia  leather  chairs,  and  one  of  those  settees  which 
were  intended  for  farthingales  and  straight  up-and-down  positions. 
The  walls  were  adorned  with  oil  paintings,  portraits  of  stiff  ladies 
with  powdered  coiffures,  of  bewigged  Oldenborgians  and  other 
redoubtable  persons  in  mail  and  armour  or  red  coats. 

"  You  must  really  excuse  us,  lieutenant,  for  not  having  lighted 
the  candles  yet,"  said  Miss  Cicely,  the  younger  sister,  who  was 
generally  called  "Cilly,"  and  who  came  towards  me  and  dropped 
a  courtesy,  exactly  like  her  sister's ;  "  but  the  children  do  so  like 
to  tumble  about  here  before  the  fire  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
and  Madam  Skau  does  also  enjoy  a  quiet  little  chat  in  the  chimney 
corner." 

"  Oh,  chat  me  here  and  chat  me  there,  there  is  nothing  you  like 
yourself  better  than  a  little  bit  of  gossip  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
Cilly,  and  then  we  are  to  get  the  blame  of  it,"  answered  the  old 
asthmatic  lady  whom  they  called  Mother  Skau. 

"  Eh,  good  evening,  sir,"  she  said  to  me,  as  she  drew  herself  up 
to  make  the  best  of  her  own  inflated  bulky  appearance,  "  come  and 
sit  down  here  and  tell  me  how  it  fares  with  you  ;  but,  by  my  troth, 
you  are  nothing  but  skin  and  bones !  " 

I  had  to  tell  her  all  about  my  illness,  and  in  return  I  had  to 
endure  a  very  long  and  circumstantial  account  of  her  rheumatism 
and  her  asthmatical  ailments,  which  fortunately  was  interrupted 
by  the  noisy  arrival  of  the  children  from  the  kitchen,  where  they 
had  paid  a  visit  to  old  Stine,  a  fixture  in  the  house. 

"Oh,  auntie,  do   you   know  what  Stine   says?"  cried  a  little 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


5 


brown-eyed  beauty ;  "  she  says  I  shall  go  with  her  into  the  hayloft 
to-night  and  give  the  brownie  his  Christmas  porridge.  But  I 
won't  go,  I  am  afraid  of  the  brownies  ! " 

"  Never  mind,  my  dear,  Stine  says  it  only  to  get  rid  of  you  ; 
she  dare  not  go  into  the  hayloft  herself,  the  foolish  old  thing,  in 
the  dark,  for  she  knows  well  enough  she  was  frightened  once 
by  the  brownies  herself,"  said  Miss  Mette  ;  "  but  are  you  not  going 
to  say  good  evening  to  the  lieutenant,  children  ?  " 

"  Oh,  is  that  you,  lieutenant  ? — I  did  not  know  you  !     How  pale 
you  are  !     It  is  such  a  long  time  since  I  saw  you,"  shouted  the 
children  all  at  once  as  they  flocked  round  me.     "  Now  you  must 
tell    us    something    awful  jolly!      It    is 
such   a    long    time   since    you    told    us 
anything.     Oh,  tell   us  about  Buttercup, 
dear  Mr.   Lieutenant,   do  tell    us  about 
Buttercup  arid  Goldentooth  !  " 

I  had  to  tell  them  about  Buttercup 
and  the  dog  Goldentooth,  but  they  would 
not  let  me  off  till  I  gave  them  a  couple 
of  stories  into  the  bargain  about  the 
brownies  at  Vager  and  at  Bure,  who  stole 
hay  from  each  other  and  who  met  at  last 
with  a  load  of  hay  on  their  backs,  and 
how  they  fought  till  they  vanished  in  a 
cloud  of  hay-dust.  I  had  also  to  tell 

the  story  of  the  brownie  at  Hesselberg,  who  teased  the  house- 
dog till  the  farmer  came  out  and  threw  him  over  the  barn  bridge. 
The  children  clapped  their  hands  in  great  joy  and  laughed  heartily. 

"  It  served  him  right,  the  naughty  brownie,"  they  shouted, 
and  asked  for  another  story. 

"  No,  no,  children  !  you  bother  the  lieutenant  too  much,"  said 
Miss  Cicely,  "  Aunt  Mette  will  tell  you  a  story  now." 

"  Yes,  do  auntie,  do !  "  was  the  general  cry. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  what  I  shall  tell  you,"  said  Aunt  Mette, 
"  but  since  we  have  commenced  telling  about  the  brownies,  I 
think  I  will  tell  you  something  about  them  too.  You  remember 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


of  course  old  Kari  Gausdal,  who  came  here  and  baked  bread  and 
who  always  had  so  many  tales  to  tell  you." 

"  Oh,  yes,  yes  !  "  shouted  the  children. 

"Well,  old  Kari  told  me,  that  she  was  in  service  at  the  orphan 
asylum  some  years  ago,  and  at  that  time  it  was  still  more  dreary 
and  lonely  in  that  part  of  the  town  than  it  is  now.  That  asylum 
is  a  dark  and  dismal  place,  I  can  tell  you.  Well,  when  Kari  came 
there  she  was  cook,  and  a  very  smart  and  clever  girl  she  was.  She 
had  one  day  to  get  up  very  early  in  the  morning  to  brew,  when 
the  other  servants  said  to  her  :  '  You  had  better  mind  you  don't 
get  up  too  early,  and  you  mustn't  put  any  fire  under  the  copper 
before  two  o'clock.'  '  Why  ? '  she  asked.  '  Don't  you  know  there 
is  a  brownie  here ;  and  you  ought  to  know  that  these  people  don't 
like  to  be  disturbed  so  early/  they  said.  '  and  before  two  o'clock 
you  mustn't  light  the  fire  by  any  means.'  *  Is  that  all  ? '  said  Kari  ; 
she  was  anything  but  chicken-hearted.  '  I  have  nothing  to  do  with 
that  brownie  of  yours,  but  if  he  comes  in  my  way,  why,  by  my 
faith,  I  will  send  him  head  over  heeis  through  the  door.'  The 
others  warned  her,  but  she  did  not  care  a  bit,  and  next  morning, 
just  as  the  clock  struck  one,  she  got  up  and  lighted  the  fire 
under  the  copper  in  the  brew-house.  But  the  fire  went  out  every 
moment.  Somebody  appeared  to  be  throwing  the  logs  about 
on  the  hearth,  but  sho  could  not  see  who  it  was.  She  gathered 
the  logs  together  one  time  after  the  other,  but  it  was  of  no 
use  and  the  chimney  would  not  draw  either.  She  got  tired  of 
this  at  last,  took  a  burning  log  and  ran  round  the  room  with  it, 
swinging  it  high  and  low  while  she  shouted:  'Be  gone,  be  gone 
whence  you  came !  If  you  think  you  can  frighten  me,  you  are 
mistaken.'  '  Curse  you  I '  somebody  hissed  in  one  of  the  darkest 
corners,  '  I  have  had  seven  souls  in  this  house  ;  I  thought  I  should 
have  got  eight  in  all  ! '  But  from  that  time  nobody  saw  or  heard 
the  brownie  in  the  asylum,  said  Kari  Gausdal." 

"  I  am  getting  so  frightened,"  said  one  of  the  children  ;  "no,  you 
must  tell  us  some  more  stories,  lieutenant  ;  I  never  feel  afraid  when 
you  tell  us  anything,  because  you  tell  us  such  jolly  tales."  Another 
proposed  that  I  should  tell  them  about  the  brownie  who  danced  the 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


Hailing  dance  with  the  lassie.  That  was  a  tale  I  didn't  care  much 
about,  as  there  was  some  singing  in  it.  But  they  would  on  no  account 
let  me  off,  and  I  was  going  to  clear  my  throat  and  prepare  my  exceed- 
ingly inharmonious  voice  to  sing  the  Hailing  dance,  which  belongs 
to  the  story,  when  the  pretty  niece  whom  I  have  already  referred  to 
entered  the  room,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  children  and  to  my  rescue. 

"  Well,  my  dear  children,  I  will  tell  you  the  story,  if  you  can  get 
Cousin  Lizzie  to  sing  the  Hailing  for  you,"  said  I,  as  she  sat  down, 
"and  then  you'll  dance  to  it  yourselves,  won't  you  ?" 

Cousin  Lizzie  was  besieged  by  the  children,  and  had  to  promise 
to  do  the  singing,  so  I  commenced  my  story : — 

"  There  was  once  upon  a  time — I  almost  think  it  was  in 
Hallingdal — a  lassie  who  was  sent  up  into  the  hay-loft  with  the 
cream  porridge  for  the  brownie — I  cannot  recollect  if  it  was  on 
a  Thursday  or  on  a  Christmas  Eve,  but  I  think  it  was  a  Christmas 
Eve.  Well,  she  thought  it  was  a  great  pity  to  give  the  brownie 
such  a  dainty  dish,  so  she  eat  the  porridge  herself,  and  the  melted 
butter  in  the  bargain,  and  went  up  into  the  hay-loft  with  plain  oat- 
meal porridge  and  sour  milk,  in  a  pig's  trough  instead.  '  There, 
that's  good  enough  for  you,  Master  Brownie/  she  said.  But  no 
sooner  had  she  spoken  the  words,  than  the  brownie  stood  right 
before  her,  seized  her  round  the  waist,  and  danced  about  with  her, 
which  he  kept  up  till  she  lay  gasping  for  breath,  and  when  the 
people  came  up  into  the  hay-loft  in  the  morning,  she  was  more  dead 
than  alive.  But  as  long  as  they  danced,  the  brownie  sang  (and 
here  Cousin  'Lizzie  undertook  his  part,  and  sang  to  the  tune  of  the 
Hailing  :— 

"  And  you  have  eaten  the  porridge  for  the  brownie, 
And  you  shall  dance  with  the  little  brownie  !" 

"  And  have  you  eaten  the  porridge  for  the  brownie  ? 
Then  you  shall  dance  with  the  little  brownie  !" 

I  assisted  in  keeping  time  by  stamping  on  the  floor  with  my  feet, 
while  the  children  romped  about  the  room  in  uproarious  joy. 

"  I  think  you  are  turning  the  house  upside  down,  children  !"  said 
old  Mother  Skau ;  "  if  you'll  be  quiet,  I'll  give  you  a  story." 


8  AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 

The  children  were  soon  quiet,  and  Mother  Skau  commenced 
as  follows: — 

"  You  hear  a  great  deal  about  brownies  and  fairies  and  such  like 
beings,  but  I  don't  believe  there  is  much  in  it.  I  have  neither  seen 
one  nor  the  other, — of  course  I  have  not  been  so  very  much  about 
in  my  lifetime,  but  I  believe  it  is  all  nonsense.  But  old  Stine  out 
in  the  kitchen  there,  she  says  she  has  seen  the  brownie.  About 
the  time  when  I  was  confirmed,  she  was  in  service  with  my  parents. 
She  came  to  us  from  a  captain's,  who  had  given  up  the  sea.  It  was 
a  very  quiet  place.  They  never  went  anywhere,  and  nobody  came 
to  see  them.  The  captain  only  took  a  walk  as  far  as  the  quay 
every  day.  They  always  went  to  bed  early.  People  said  there 
was  a  brownie  in  the  house.  Well,  it  so  happened  that  Stine  and 
the  cook  were  sitting  in  their  room  one  evening,  mending  and 
darning  their  things  ;  it  was  near  bedtime,  for  the  watchman  had 
already  sung  out  "  Ten  o'clock,"  but  somehow  the  darning  and 
the  sewing  went  on  very  slowly  indeed  ;  every  moment  "Jack  Nap" 
came  and  played  his  tricks  upon  them  !  At  one  moment  Stine  was 
nodding  and  nodding,  and  then  came  the  cook's  turn — they  could 
not  keep  their  eyes  open  ;  they  had  been  early  up  that  morning  to 
wash  clothes.  But  just  as  they  were  sitting  thus,  they  heard  a 
terrible  crash  down  stairs  in  the  kitchen  and  Stine  shouted  :  '  Lor' 
bless  and  preserve  us !  it  must  be  the  brownie.'  She  was  so 
frightened  she  dared  scarcely  move  a  foot,  but  at  last  the  cook 
plucked  up  courage  and  went  down  into  the  kitchen,  closely 
followed  by  Stine.  When  they  opened  the  kitchen  door,  they 
found  all  the  crockery  on  the  floor,  but  none  of  it  broken,  while  the 
brownie  was  standing  on  the  big  kitchen  table  with  his  red  cap  on 
and  hurling  the  one  dish  after  the  other  on  to  the  floor  and  laughing 
in  great  glee.  The  cook  had  heard  that  the  brownies  could  some- 
times be  tricked  into  moving  to  another  house,  when  anybody 
would  tell  them  of  a  very  quiet  place,  and  as  she  long  had  been 
wishing  for  an  opportunity  to  play  a  trick  upon  this  brownie,  she 
took  courage  and  spoke  to  him — her  voice  was  a  little  shaky  at 
the  time — that  he  ought  .to  remove  to  the  tinman's  over  the  way, 
where  it  was  so  very  quiet  and  pleasant,  because  they  always  went 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE.  11 

to  bed  at  nine  o'clock  every  evening ;  which  was  true  enough,  as 
the  cook  told  Stine  later,  but  then  the  master  and  all  his  apprentices 
and  journeymen  were  up  every  morning  at  three  o'clock,  and 
hammered  away  and  made  a  terrible  noise  all  day.  Since  that  day 
they  never  saw  the  brownie  any  more  at  the  captain's.  He  seemed 
to  feel  quite  at  home  at  the  tinman's,  although  they  were  hammering 
and  tapping  away  there  all  day,  but  people  said  that  the  gudewife  put 
a  dish  of  porridge  up  in  the  garret  for  him  every  Thursday  evening; 
and  it's  no  wonder  that  they  got  on  well  and  became  rich  when 
they  had  a  brownie  in  the  house.  Stine  believed  he  brought 
things  to  them.  Whether  it  was  the  brownie  or  not  who  really 
helped  them,  I  cannot  say,"  said  Mother  Skau,  in  conclusion,  and  got 
a  fit  of  coughing  and  choking  after  the  exertion  of  telling  this,  for 
her,  unusually  long  story. 

When  she  had  taken  a  pinch  of  snuff  she  felt  better,  and  became 
quite  cheerful  again,  and  began  : — 

"  My  mother,  who,  by  the  by,  was  a  truthful  woman,  told  a  story, 
which  happened  here  in  the  town  one  Christmas  Eve.  I  know  it 
is  true,  for  an  untrue  word  never  passed  her  lips." 

"  Let  us  hear  it,  Madam  Skau,"  said  I. 

"  Yes,  tell,  tell,  Mother  Skau,"  cried  the  children. 

She  coughed  a  little,  took  another  pinch  of  snuff,  and  pro- 
ceeded : — 

"  When  my  mother  still  was  in  her  teens,  she  used  sometimes 
to  visit  a  widow  whom  she  knew,  and  whose  name  was, — dear  me, 
what  was  her  name  ? — Madam, — yes,  Madame  Evensen,  of  course. 
She  was  a  woman  who  had  seen  the  best  part  of  her  life, 
but  whether  she  lived  up  in  Mill  Street,  or  down  in  the  corner 
by  Little  Church  Hill,  I  cannot  say  for  certain.  Well,  one  Christ- 
mas Eve,  just  like  to-night,  she  thought  she  would  go  to  the 
morning  service  on  the  Christmas  Day,  for  she  was  a  great  church- 
goer, and  so  she  left  out  some  coffee  with  the  girl  before  she  went 
to  bed,  that  she  might  get  a  cup  next  morning — she  was  sure 
a  cup  of  warm  coffee  would  do  her  a  great  deal  of  good  at  that 
early  hour !  When  she  woke  the  moon  was  shining  into  the  room, 
but  when  she  got  up  to  look  at  the  clock  she  found  it  had  stopped 


12 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


and  that  the  fingers  pointed  to  half-past  eleven.  She  had  no  idea 
what  time  it  could  be,  so  she  went  to  the  window  and  looked  across 
to  the  church.  The  light  was  streaming  out  through  all  the 
windows.  She  must  have  overslept  herself?  She  called  the  girl 
and  told  her  to  get  the  coffee  ready,  while  she  dressed  herself.  So 
she  took  her  hymn-book  and  started  for  church.  The  street  was 
very  quiet ;  she  did  not  meet  a  single  person  on  her  way  to  church. 


When  she  came  inside,  she  sat  down  in  her  customary  seat  in 
one  of  the  pews,  but  when  she  looked  around  her  she  thought  that 
the  people  were  so  pale  and  so  strange,  exactly  as  if  they  were  all 
dead.  She  did  not  know  any  of  them,  but  there  were  several  she 
seemed  to  recollect  having  seen  before,  but  when  and  where  she  had 
seen  them  she  could  not  call  to  mind.  When  the  minister  came 
into  the  pulpit,  she  saw  that  he  was  not  one  of  the  ministers  in  the 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE.  13 

town,  but  a  tall  pale  man,  whose  face  however  she  thought  she 
could  recollect.  He  preached  very  nicely  indeed,  and  there  was 
not  the  usual  noisy  coughing  and  hawking,  which  you  always  hear 
at  the  morning  services  on  a  Christmas  Day ;  it  was  so  quiet, 
you  could  have  heard  a  needle  drop  on  the  floor, — in  fact,  it 
was  so  quiet  she  began  to  feel  quite  uneasy  and  uncomfortable. 
"When  the  singing  commenced  again,  a  female,  who  sat  next 
to  her,  leant  towards  her  and  whispered  in  her  ear  :  '  Throw  the 
cloak  loosely  around  you  and  go,  because  if  you  wait  here  till 
the  service  is  over  they  will  make  short  work  of  you  !  It  is  the  dead 
who  are  keeping  service.'  J> 

"  Oh,  Mother  Skau,  I  feel  so  frightened.  I  feel  so  frightened," 
whimpered  one  of  the  children,  and  climbed  up  on  a  chair. 

"  Hush,  hush,  child,"  said  Mother  Skau  ;  "  she  got  away  from  them 
safe  enough  ;  only  listen  ! — When  the  widow  heard  the  voice  of  the 
person  next  to  her,  she  turned  round  to  look  at  her — but  what  a 
start  she  got !  She  recognised  her,  it  was  her  neighbour,  who  died 
many  years  ago ;  and  when  she  looked  around  the  church,  she 
remembered  well  that  she  had  seen  both  the  minister  and  several 
of  the  congregation  before,  and  that  they  had  died  long  ago.  This 
sent  quite  a  cold  shiver  through  her,  she  became  that  frightened. 
She  threw  the  cloak  loosely  round  her,  as  the  female  next  to  her 
had  said,  and  went  out  of  the  pew  ;  but  she  thought  they  all  turned 
round  and  stretched  out  their  hands  after  her.  Her  legs  shook 
under  her,  till  she  thought  she  would  sink  down  on  the  church  floor. 
When  she  came  out  on  the  steps,  she  felt  that  they  had  got  hold  of 
her  cloak ;  she  let  it  go  and  left  it  in  their  clutches,  while  she 
hurried  home  as  quickly  as  she  could.  When  she  came  to  the  door 
the  clock  struck  one,  and  by  the  time  she  got  inside  she  was  nearly 
half  dead  —  she  was  that  frightened.  In  the  morning,  when  the 
people  went  to  church,  they  found  the  cloak  lying  on  the  steps 
but  it  was  torn  into  a  thousand  pieces.  My  mother  had  often  seen 
the  cloak  before,  and  I  think  she  saw  one  of  the  pieces  also  ;  but 
that  doesn't  matter — it  was  a  short,  pink,  woollen  cloak  with  fur 
lining  and  borders,  such  as  was  still  in  use  in  my  childhood!  They 
are  very  rarely  seen  nowadays,  but  there  are  some  old  ladies  in  the 


14  AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 

town  and  down  at  the  '  home '  whom   I   see  with  such  cloaks  in 
church  at  Christmas  time." 

The  children,  who  had  expressed  considerable  fear  and  un- 
easiness during  the  latter  part  of  the  story,  declared  they  would 
not  hear  any  more  such  terrible  stories.  They  had  crept  up 
into  the  sofa  and  on  the  chairs,  but  still  they  thought  they  felt 
somebody  plucking  at  them  from  underneath  the  table.  Suddenly 
the  lights  were  brought  in,  and  we  discovered  then  to  our  great 
amusement  that  the  children  had  put  their  legs  on  to  the  table.  The 
lights,  the  Christmas  cake,  the  jellies,  the  tarts,  and  the  wine  soon 
chased  away  the  horrible  ghost  story  and  all  fear  from  their  minds, 
revived  everybody's  spirits,  and  brought  the  conversation  on  to 
their  neighbours  and  the  topics  of  the  day.  Finally  our  thoughts 
took  a  flight  towards  something  more  substantial  on  the  appearance 
of  the  Christmas  porridge  and  the  roast  ribs  of  pork.  We  broke  up 
early  and  parted  with  the  best  wishes  for  a  Merry  Christmas.  I 
passed  however  a  very  uneasy  night.  I  do  not  know  whether 
it  was  the  stories,  the  substantial  supper,  my  weak  condition, 
or  all  these  combined,  which  was  the  cause  of  it  ;  I  tossed  myself 
hither  and  thither  in  my  bed  and  got  mixed  up  with  brownies, 
fairies,  and  ghosts  the  whole  night.  Finally  I  sailed  through  the 
air  towards  the  church,  while  some  merry  sledge  bells  were 
ringing  in  my  ears.  The  church  was  lighted  up,  and  when  I  came 
inside  I  saw  it  was  our  own  church  up  in  the  valley.  There  were 
nobody  there  but  peasants  in  their  red  caps,  soldiers  in  full 
uniform,  country  lasses  with  their  white  head-dresses  and  red 
cheeks.  The  minister  was  in  the  pulpit ;  it  was  my  grandfather, 
who  died  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  But  just  as  he  was  in  the 
middle  of  the  sermon,  he  made  a  somersault — he  was  known 
as  one  of  the  smartest  men  in  the  parish — right  into  the  middle 
of  the  church ;  the  surplice  flew  one  way  and  the  collar  another. 
"  There  lies  the  parson,  and  here  am  I,"  he  said,  with  one  of  his 
well  known  airs,  "and  now  let  us  have  a  spring-dance!"  In  an 
instant  the  whole  congregation  was  in  the  midst  of  a  wild  dance ; 
a  big  tall  peasant  came  towards  me  and  took  me  by  the  shoulder 
and  said  :  "  You'll  have  to  join  us,  my  lad  ! " 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


At  this  moment  I  awoke  and  felt  some  one  pulling  at  my 
shoulder.  I  could  scarcely  believe  my  eyes  when  I  saw  the  same 
peasant  whom  I  had  seen  in  my  dream  leaning  over  me.  There  he 
was  with  the  red  cap  down  over  his  ears,  a  big  fur  coat  over  his 
arm,  and  a  pair  of  big  eyes  looking  fixedly  at  me. 


"You  must  be  dreaming,"  he  said,  "the  perspiration  is  standing 
in  big  drops  on  your  forehead,  and  you  were  sleeping  as  heavily  as 
a  bear  in  his  lair  !  God's  peace  and  a  merry  Christmas  to  you,  I 
eay,  and  greetings  to  you  from  your  father  and  all  yours  up  in  the 

C 


1 8  AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 


valley.  Here's  a.  letter  from  your  father,  and  the  horse  is  waiting 
for  you  out  in  the  yard." 

"  But,  good  heavens,  is  that  you,  Thor  ? "  I  shouted  in  great  joy. 
It  was  indeed  my  father's  man,  a  splendid  specimen  of  a 
Norwegian  peasant.  "  How  in  the  world  have  you  come  here 
already  ? " 

"  Ah,  that  I  can  soon  tell  you,"  answered  Thor.  "  I  came  with 
your  favourite,  the  bay  mare.  1  had  to  take  your  father  down  to 
Naes,  and  then  he  says  to  me,  '  Thor/  says  he,  '  it  isn't  very  far  to 
town  from  here.  Just  take  the  bay  mare  and  run  down  and  see 
how  the  lieutenant  is,  and  if  he  is  well  and  can  come  with  you, 
you  must  bring  .him  back  along  with  you/  says  he." 

When  we  left  the  town,  it  was  daylight.  The  roads  were  in 
splendid  condition.  The  bay  mare  stretched  out  her  old  smart 
legs  and  we  arrived  at  length  in  sight  of  the  dear  old  house.  Thor 
jumped  off  the  sledge  to  undo  the  gate,  and  as  we  merrily  drove  up 
to  the  door  we  were  met  by  the  boisterous  welcome  of  old  Rover, 
who  in  his  frantic  joy  at  hearing  my  voice  almost  broke  his  chain 
in  trying  to  rush  at  me. 

Such  a  Christmas  as  I  spent  that  year  I  cannot  recollect  before 
or  since. 


THE     LADS    WHO     MET    THE     TROLLS1    IN 
THE   HEDALE  WOOD. 

ONCE  upon  a  time  in  the  olden  days  there  lived  a  poor 
old  couple,  tenants  on  a  small  farm  up  in  Vaage  in  the 
Gudbrandsdale.  They  had  many  children,  and  two  of  the  sons, 
who  might  be  about  half  grown  up,  had  always  to  tramp  about 
the  parish  begging.  They  knew  therefore  all  the  roads  and 
by-roads,  and  they  knew  also  the  short  cut  to  Hedale. 

They  were  one  day  going  there,  but  as  they  had  heard  that  some 
falconers  had  built  themselves  a  hut  at  McelaV  they  thought  they 
would  just  look  in  there  at  the  same  time  and  see  the  birds  and 
how  they  were  caught,  so  they  took  the  short  cut  over  the 
Longmoors.  But  it  was  so  late  in  the  autumn,  that  the  dairy- 
maids had  gone  away  from  the  dairies  on  the  mountains  and 
they  could  find  neither  shelter  nor  food  anywhere.  They  had 

1  The  ogres  of  the  Norwegian  Fairy  Tales. 

C    2 


20    THE  LADS  WHO  MET  THE  TROLLS  IN  THE  HEDALE  WOOD. 

therefore  to  make  their  way  for  Hedale,  but  it  was  only  a  slight 
path,  so  when  the  night  set  in  they  lost  the  track,  and  to  make 
matters  worse  they  could  not  find  the  bird  catchers'  hut  either. 
Before  they  knew  where  they  were,  they  were  right  in  the  thick  of 
Bjolstad  wood.  They  knew  they  should  not  be  able  to  get  out  of 
the  wood  that  night,  so  they  commenced  cutting  boughs  off  the 
pine  trees,  made  a  fire  and  built  a  hut  of  the  branches,  for  they  had 
a  hatchet  with  them.  So  they  gathered  heather  and  moss  to  make 
a  bed  of.  Shortly  after  they  had  lain  down,  they  heard  something 
which  sniffed  and  snuffed  very  loudly  through  the  nose.  The  boys 
put  their  ears  to  the  ground  and  listened  attentively  to  hear 
whether  it  were  wild  beasts  or  a  troll.  Just  then  the  sniffing 
became  louder  and  some  one  shouted,  "  I  smell  Christian  blood 
about  here  ! " 

And  they  heard  somebody  walking  so  heavily  that  the  ground 
shook  under  their  feet.  They  knew  it  was  the  trolls  who  were 
about.  "  Lord  help  us  !  what  shall  we  do  ? "  said  the  youngest  lad 
to  his  brother. 

"  Oh,  you  had  better  stand  under  the  fir  tree,  where  you 
are,  and  be  ready  to  take  our  bags  and  make  off,  when  you 
see  them  coming ;  I  will  look  after  the  hatchet,"  said  the  elder 
brother. 

Just  then  they  saw  the  trolls  approaching  ;  they  were  so  big  and 
tall  that  their  heads  reached  as  high  as  the  tops  of  the  fir  trees,  but 
they  had  only  one  eye  amongst  the  three  of  them,  and  this  they 
used  in  turn.  They  had  a  hole  in  their  foreheads,  in  which 
they  put  it  and  shifted  it  about  with  their  hands.  He  who  had 
the  eye  went  first ;  the  others  followed  behind  and  kept  hold  of 
the  first. 

"  Run  away  now,"  said  the  elder  of  the  lads,  "  but  don't  run  too 
far,  before  you  see  what  happens.  Since  they  have  got  their  eye 
so  high  up,  they  can't  see  me  very  well,  when  I  tackle  them  from 
behind." 

Well,    the   younger   brother    ran  off  and  the  trolls   after  him 
In    the   meantime  the   eider  brother  got   behind  them  and  gave 
the  last  troll  a  cut  with  the  hatchet  in  the  ankle.     The  troll  gave 


THE  LADS  WHO  MET  THE  TROLLS  IN  THE  HEDALE  WOOD.    23 

a  horrible  shriek,  which  frightened  and  gave  the  first  troll  such 
a  start  that  the  eye  fell  out  of  his  forehead.  But  the  lad  was 
not  slow  in  picking  it  up.  It  was  larger  than  two  pint  basins 
put  together,  and  it  was  so  bright,  that  although  the  night  was 
pitch  dark,  he  could  see  as  clearly  as  by  daylight,  when  he  looked 
through  it. 

When  the  trolls  found  that  he  had  taken  their  eye  from  them 
and  that  he  had  wounded  one  of  them,  they  began  to  threaten  him 
with  every  kind  of  evil  in  existence,  if  he  did  not  return  them  the 
eye  at  once. 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  trolls  or  threats  either,"  said  the  lad,  "  now 
I  have  got  three  eyes  all  to  myself  and  you  three  haven't  got  any." 

"  If  we  don't  get  our  eye  back  this  minute,  we'll  turn  you  into 
stocks  and  stones,"  screeched  the  trolls. 

But  the  lad  thought  there  was  no  hurry  ;  he  wasn't  afraid  of 
witchcraft  or  their  bragging  words.  If  they  didn't  leave  him  alone, 
he  would  cut  away  at  them  all  three  till  they  had  to  crawl  along 
the  ground  like  snakes. 

When  the  trolls  heard  this  they  became  frightened,  and  began  to 
use  more  polite  words.  They  begged  him  very  nicely  to  give  them 
their  eye  back  again  and  he  should  have  both  silver  and  gold  and 
everything  he  wished  for.  Well,  the  lad  thought  that  was  very 
fair,  but  he  wanted  all  the  gold  and  silver  first ;  and  so  he  said,  if 
one  of  them  would  go  home  and  fetch  as  much  gold  and  silver  as 
he  and  his  brother  could  fill  their  bags  with  and  give  them  two 
good  cross-bows  of  steel  in  the  bargain,  they  should  have  their  eye 
again,  but  until  they  did  this  he  would  keep  it. 

The  trolls  screamed  and  wailed,  and  said  that  none  of  them 
could  go  home  when  they  hadn't  any  eye  to  see  with,  but  one  of 
them  began  to  bawl  out  for  their  old  woman,  for  they  also  had  a 
gudewife  among  the  three  of  them.  After  a  while  somebody  up 
in  the  mountains  a  good  way  off  to  the  north  answered.  So  the 
trolls  said  that  she  must  come  with  two  steel  cross-bows  and  two 
buckets  full  of  gold  and  silver,  and  before  very  long  she  was  there, 
I  can  tell  you.  When  she  heard  what  had  happened,  she  also 
commenced  to  threaten  th^.m  with  witchcraft.  But  the  trolls  were 


24  ADS  WHO  MET  THE  TROLLS  IN  THE  HEDALE  WOOD. 

afraid,  and  asked  her  to  beware  of  the  little  wasp.  She  had  better 
mind  or  he  might  take  her  eye  as  well.  So  she  threw  down  the 
buckets  with  the  gold  and  the  silver  and  the  cross-bows  to  them, 
and  made  off  towards  the  mountains  with  the  trolls.  But  since 
that  time  no  one  has  heard  that  the  trolls  have  been  walking  in  the 
Hedale  wood  sniffing  for  Christian  blood. 


MATTHIAS    THE    HUNTER'S    STORIES. 


ONE  fine  Saturday  in  November  1836,  I  found  myself  at  the 
house  of  my  good  friend,  the  Squire,  in  Nittedale.  It  was  a 
very  long  time  since  I  had  been  there,  but  as  he  is  not  the  sort 
of  man  to  receive  an  old  friend  with  a  new  face,  I  had  to  stay 
to  dinner  and  to  drink  a  cup  of  coffee  afterwards,  which  was  very 


26  MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES. 

acceptable  after  the  long  walk  of  fourteen  miles  from  town.  We 
were  just  settling  ourselves  around  the  coffee-table,  when  several 
friends  from  the  parsonage  arrived.  According  to  the  custom  of 
the  house,  punch  was  brought  in  ;  the  conversation  became  animated, 
and  we  looked  to  our  glasses  so  frequently,  and  I  looked  so  often 
into  the  dear  blue  eyes  of  the  pretty  daughter,  that  I  almost 
forgot  the  appointment  I  had  on  the  following  day  to  shoot  with  a 
friend  in  Gjerdrum. 

The  sun  stood  already  on  the  ridge  of  the  mountains,  and  if  I 
wished  to  reach  my  destination  before  my  friend  went  to  bed,  it  was 
of  little  use  to  think  of  taking  the  main  road  round  by  the  church, 
through  the  Midwood  and  over  the  moors,  which  at  that  time  of  year 
was  sure  to  be  in  very  bad  condition  after  the  chilly  November 
weather  we  had  had  ;  so  I  went  instead  up  to  Nystuen,  the  nearest 
cottage  under  the  hill,  and  got  hold  of  Old  Matthias,  the  hunter, 
who  at  once  was  willing  to  go  with  me  and  show  me  the  short  cut 
across  the  mountain.  He  only  wanted  "just  a  chew  of  'baccy" 
before  he  started. 

It  was  a  beautiful  evening;  on  the  western  horizon  gleamed  still 
the  winterly  evening  sky.  A  slight  degree  of  cold  gave  the  air 
that  freshness  which  makes  many  of  our  November  days  so 
delightful.  A  light  mist  rose  from  the  little  stream  running  close 
by,  and  covered  the  trees  with  a  silvery  rime,  which  made  their 
branches  glitter  like  crystal. 

We  were  walking  at  a  smart  pace,  and  a  sip  from  my  pocket-flask 
soon  set  my  old  friend's  tongue  going. 

He  talked  about  hunting  and  shooting,  and  told  me  how  unfair  it 
was  that  Ole  Gjortler,  who  really  belonged  to  Gjerdrum  parish, 
should  set  his  bird-traps  on  Solberg  Common  ;  next  I  was  treated 
to  the  story  about  the  nine  bears  which  he  was  supposed  to  have 
shot,  about  his  trip  to  Hallingdale  when  the  parson  moved  there, 
and  to  a  number  of  remarks,  which  were  only  too  true,  about  the 
careless  way  in  which  the  Gjerdrum  people  looked  after  the  public 
pasture  grounds,  and  much  more  which  I  cannot  now  remember. 
When  we  came  to  Askevangen  Dairy  every  trace  of  daylight  had 
disappeared ;  the  moon  alone,  which  had  just  risen  above  the 


MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES.  27 

horizon,  threw  her  unsteady  light  between  the  tops  of  the  trees. 
As  we  passed  the  deserted  mountain-dairy,  we  must  have  crossed 
the  fresh  track  of  a  hare,  because  the  hounds  became  rather 
uneasy  in  the  couples. 

'•'  Now  it  depends  'pon  the  ..trength  of  the  couples,"  said  Matthias, 
who  tried  all  he  could  to  keep  the  dogs  back,  "  because  it  isn't  as  it 
should  be  about  here  !  " 

"  I  think  you  are  right  there,  Matthias,"  I  said  ;  "  it  isn't  as  it 
should  bs,  because  it  isn't  light  enough  for  shooting;  else,  were  the 
moon  clear  of  the  trees  yonder,  we  would  soon  make  it  all  right,  and 
the  hounds  would,  as  sure  as  I  am  here,  treat  you  to  the  best  music 
for  a  sportsman's  ear." 

"  That  may  be,"  he  continued,  and  he  looked  cautiously  back  at 
the  dairy,  "  but  they  do  say  the  huldre l  is  hereabouts  at  this 
time." 

"  Ah,  indeed,  perhaps  you  have  seen  her  yourself?" 
"  No,  I  have  never  seen  her  here,"  he  said. 

"But  where  did  you  see  her  then,  Matthias  ?  "  I  asked  curiously; 
"for  I  see  you  believe  that  there  are  such  beings  as  fairies  and 
brownies.'' 

"  Well,  shouldn't  I  believe  what  there's  written  in  the  Scriptures  ?" 
he  said.  "  Why,  when  the  Lord  banished  the  fallen  angels,  some  of 
them  went  down  below  there,  of  course,"  and  he  pointed  signifi- 
cantly downwards  ;  "but  they  who  had  not  sinned  overmuch,  are  up 
in  the  a'r,  under  the  ground,  or  in  the  sea.  Besides  I  have  myself 
often  heard  them  and  seen  them  in  the  woods  and  glens 
about  here." 

"  You  must  tell  me  something  about  them,"  I  asked  ;  "  we  have 
nothing  else  to  do  while  we  walk  along." 

"If  you  care  to  listen  to  it,  of  course  I  shall  tell  you  all  I  know," 
he  answered,  and  commenced  his  story. 

"Well,  the  first  time  1  came  across  the  huldre,   I  was  about 

eight  or  nine  years  old,  and  it  was  somewhere  up  on  the  main 

road  between  Bjerke  and  Mo.     I  had  been  on  a  message  for  my 

father,  and  was  walking  home  along  the  road,  when  1  saw  a  tall, 

1  The  Norwegian  Fairy  of  the  Woods. 


28  MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES. 

fine  lassie  coming  over  the  bogland  on  the  right  hand  side  of 
the  road.  That  part  of  the  bog  is  very  full  of  pits  and  pools. 
I  recollect  her  now  as  plainly  as  if  she  were  before  me  this  minute, 
it  was  just  as  light  as  it  is  now  ;  she  had  on  a  brown  skirt,  and  a 
light  handkerchief  over  her  head,  and  she  had  a  knitting  in  her  left 
hand.  She  was  a  pretty  creature  altogether.  But  she  was  walking 
right  across  the  bog,  and  didn't  seem  to  mind  the  pits  or  the  pools  ; 
she  came  along  as  if  there  were  not  any  there  at  all.  I  looked 
at  her  now  and  then,  but  when  I  had  walked  some  distance  and  got 
to  a  cutting  in  the  road,  which  hid  her  from  my  view,  I  thought  it 
was  wrong  to  let  the  lass  go  and  trudge  through  the  bog,  and  that 
I  ought  to  run  up  on  the  bank  and  shout  to  her  that  she  had 
gone  astray  from  the  road.  Well,  I  did  so,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  be  seen  but  the  moon,  which  was  reflected  from  every  pool  on  the 
bog,  and  then  I  guessed  it  must  have  been  the  huldre  I  had  seen." 

Although  I  thought  he  had  scarcely  seen  sufficient  to  satisfy 
himself  that  this  was  the  huldre,  I  kept  my  doubts  to  myself,  as  I 
could  see  that  any  objections  on  my  part  would  not  shake  his 
belief,  but  only  silence  him.  I  asked  him,  therefore,  if  he  had  not 
seen  similar  apparitions  on  other  occasions. 

"Yes,  of  course  I  have  ;  I  have  seen  a  great  many  things,  and 
I  have  heard  many  strange  noises  and  sounds  in  woods  and 
glens,"  said  Matthias ;  "  I  have  often  heard  talking,  cursing,  and 
singing  ;  at  other  times  I  have  heard  such  lovely  music  that  I 
cannot  tell  you  how  lovely  it  was.  Well,  once  I  went  out  bird- 
calling  ;  it  must  have  been  in  the  end  of  August,  because  the 
bilberries  were  ripe  and  the  cranberries  were  just  beginning  to 
redden.  I  was  sitting  by  a  path  on  a  tussock  between  some 
bushes,  whence  I  could  overlook  the  path  and  a  little  valley  to 
which  it  led  down,  and  where  nothing  but  ling  and  heather  grew. 
At  the  foot  of  the  hill  you  could  see  the  mouths  of  several  dark 
caverns.  I  heard  a  greyhen  cackling  among  the  ling  ;  I  called  and 
thought,  '  If  I  could  get  a  sight  of  you  now,  it  would  be  your  last 
cackle  ; '  just  then  I  heard  something  moving  behind  me  on  the  path. 
I  looked  round  and  saw  an  old  man,  but  strange  to  say  he  appeared 
to  have  three  legs ;  one  of  them  hung  and  swung  backwards  and 


MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES.  29 

forwards  between  the  other  two  as  he  walked  down  the  path  ;  but 
he  didn't  walk  exactly,  he  appeared  to  be  gliding  down  the  s'de 
of  the  mountain,  till  he  vanished  in  one  of  the  darkest  caves 
down  in  the  valley.  I  was  not  the  only  one  who  had  seen  him, 
because  directly  afterwards  a  grey  hen  came  creeping  out  from 
behind  a  tussock,  with  her  head  on  one  side  and  her  neck  stretched 
out,  looking  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  the  old  man,  but  then, 
you  may  guess,  in  another  moment  I  had  the  gun  up,  and  bang, 
there  she  lay  flapping  her  wings. 

"  So  much  for  that ;  but  another  time  at  home  in  Laskerud, — it 
wasn't  very  long  after  I  had  seen  the  huldre  walking  over  the  bog, 
a  Christmas  eve,  it  was — my  brothers  and  I  were  at  play  on  the 
side  of  a  hill,  making  snow-men  and  sliding  down  the  slope  on  sledges. 
They  used  to  say  there  were  fairies  in  that  hill,  I  must  tell  you  ! 
Well,  we  were  playing  and  running  about  as  you  know  children  can 
do.  My  youngest  brother  was  only  four  or  five  years  old,  but  he 
romped  about  and  shouted  and  enjoyed  himself  thoroughly.  It 
was  getting  very  late,  when  all  of  a  sudden  somebody  in  the  hill 
shouted  :  '  Go  home  now."  But  we  did  not  go  ;  we  thought  it  was 
still  very  early.  Before  long,  however,  we  heard  another  shout, 
'  Go  home  at  once  now.'  '  Just  listen,'  said  my  youngest  brother, — 
he  hadn't  sense  enough  to  know  that  he  shouldn't  take  notice  of 
their  shouting, — '  they  are  shouting  to  us  over  in  the  hill  to  go  home.' 
We  did  not  stop  playing,  however,  but  kept  on  slid:ng  down  the  hill 
on  our  sledges,  when  we  suddenly  heard  a  shout  which  made  our 

ears  ring  :  '  If  you   don't  go  home  this   moment,   I'll '      We 

didn't  hear  any  more,  for  we  took  to  our  heels  and  ran  as  fast  as 
our  legs  could  carry  us,  and  didn't  stop  till  we  were  outside  our 
own  door. " 

"  Some  time  after  this, — we  were  all  grown  up  by  that  time, — I 
and  my  brother  were  coming  home  one  Sunday  morning,  after  having 
been  out  all  night  fishing,  when  we  all  at  once  heard  some  hounds 
giving  tongue  over  in  the  Solberg  Wood.  It  sounded  fine,  I  can  tell 
you  !  W7ell,  I  was  tired  and  went  in  to  lie  down,  but  my  brother 
thought  it  was  such  a  fine  morning,  that  he  would  stay  up  and 
listen  to  the  dogs.  All  at  once  they  ceased,  so  he  went  over  there, 


30  MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES. 

thinking  he  might  come  across  the  track  of  the  hare  and  start  it 
again.  But  when  he  came  to  a  clearing  in  the  wood,  where  the 
trees  had  been  cut  down,  he  discovered  right  before  him  a  big,  fine 
house,  painted  red,  with  the  windows  and  the  doors  all  askew. 
He  wondered  what  building  this  could  be  ;  he  had  never  seen  it 
before,  and  he  thought  he  was  well  acquainted  with  those  parts. 
Before  the  house  was  a  big  bog,  but  he  thought  he  would  walk 
across  and  have  a  look  at  the  house.  There  were  no  people  to  be 
seen.  He  thought  he  would  go  home  and  tell  me  about  it  and  get 
me  to  go  with  him." 

"  It  was  a  great  pity,"  said  I,  "  that  he  didn't  throw  steel,  or  fire 
his  gun  over  the  house, — I  suppose  he  had  a  gun  with  him, — because 
by  the  time  you  came  back,  I  suppose  it  was  all  gone  ? " 

"You  are  right,"  said  Matthias,  "it  was  a  pity  he  didn't  fire 
into  it.  Had  I  been  there,  I  should  have  done  so,  but  he  lost  his 
senses  entirely.  But  just  listen,  and  you'll  hear  he  fared  worse 
than  you  would  expect.  When  he  got  half  way  across  the  bog, 
he  met  such  a  lot  of  people  that  he  had  to  elbow  his  way  through 
them.  They  were  scantily  clothed,  and  all  were  going  north.  But 
he  had  scarcely  pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd,  when  they 
turned  round  upon  him  and  felled  him  to  the  ground,  where  he 
was  lying  when  my  sisters  came  past  on  their  way  to  bring  the 
cow  home  in  the  evening.  There  he  was  lying  with  both  his 
fists  clenched  and  thrust  into  his  face,  which  was  quite  black,  and  the 
froth  was  foaming  out  of  his  mouth.  They  were  terribly  frightened, 
you  may  guess,  but  they  got  him  home  at  last,  and  laid  him  on  a 
bench,  and  then  they  fetched  me.  As  soon  as  I  saw  him  I  guessed 
what  was  the  matter  with  him.  I  knew  only  of  one  way  to  get 
him  round.  I  took  my  gun  down  from  the  wall  and"  I  fired  it 
lengthways  over  him,  but  although  that's  considered  a  good  thing,  he 
didn't  move  any  more  than  that  beam  there,  which  the  Gjerdrum 
people  have  placed  across  the  road.  He  was  as  dead  as  a  stone, 
he  was !  '  Oh,  ho ! '  thought  I,  and  loaded  the  gun  again. 
'  Come  and  give  me  a  hand,  lasses,'  said  I,  4  and  let  us  put  him 
where  you  found  him.  It's  no  use  trying  here.'  We  did  so, 
and  I  fired  again,  and  no  mistake,  he  woke  that  time.  If  he 


MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES.  33 


didn't  jump  up  the  moment  I  fired  the  gun  over  him,  may  I  never 
leave  this  spot  alive  !  He  glared  and  stared  about  him  so  horribly, 
that  we  were  almost  afraid  of  him.  We  took  him  home  again,  but 
he  was  poorly,  and  was  so  queer  and  frightful-looking  afterwards, 
you  would  scarcely  believe  it.  He  would  remain  standing  in  one 
place,  staring  right  before  him,  as  if  his  eyes  would  start  out  of  his 
head  ;  he  wouldn't  eat  anything,  and  he  would  never  speak  to 
anybody  unless  they  spoke  to  him  first.  He  was  bewitched, 
he  was.  But  it  began  to  wear  off  by  and  by,  and  it  was  only 
hen  he  told  us  how  it  all  happened. 

"  Those  are  the  times  I  have  seen  such  things,"  said  Matthias. 

"  Have  you  never  seen  the  brownie  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,  of  course  I  have,"  answered  Matthias,  speaking  with  the 
greatest  conviction  ;  "  when  I  was  at  home  with  my  parents  at 
Laskerud,  where  we  had  one  in  the  house.  I  have  only  seen  him 
once.  One  fine  moonlight  evening  after  we  youngsters  were  gone 
to  bed,  my  father  went  out  to  take  a  turn  round  the  yard,  when 
he  saw  a  lad  sitting  on  the  barn-bridge,  dangling  his  legs  and 
looking  up  at  the  moon,  just  as  if  he  did  not  see  the  old  man. 
'You  had  better  go  in  and  go  to  bed  now,  Matthias,'  said  my 
father,  for  he  thought  it  was  me ;  '  and  don't  sit  there  and  stare  at 
the  moon  at  this  time  of  night ! '  But  in  the  same  moment  the  lad 
vanished,  and  when  my  father  came  in  and  asked  for  me,  he  found 
me  a-bed,  snoring  hard." 

"  But  it  was  about  the  time  when  I  saw  him  myself,  that  I  was 
going  to  tell  you.  It  was  just  about  a  year  after  I  had  been 
confirmed,  when  I  one  Saturday  afternoon  had  been  to  town  with 
a  cartload  of  planks.  I  had  had  something  to  drink  during  the 
day ;  and  as  soon  as  I  came  home  I  lay  down.  Towards  evening  I 
got  up  and  had  something  to  eat — it  wasn't  much,  because  I  still  felt 
giddy  and  queer  in  my  head — when  my  father  said  to  me  :  '  You 
had  better  give  the  horse  his  fodder  before  you  go  to  bed  again. 
I  suppose  the  others  are  out  running  after  the  lasses." 

"  I  went  into  the  stable  first  to  see  to  the  horse,  and  found  him 
neighing  and  waiting  for  his  hay,  so  I  went  up  into  the  hay-loft  for 
an  armful,  but  as  I  put  out  my  hands  I  caught  hold  pf  something 

D 


34 


MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER  s  STORIES. 


hairy,  like  the  ears  of  a  dog,  and  the  next  moment  I  saw  two  eyes, 
red  as  fire,  glaring  at  me  out  of  the  darkness.  I  thought  it  could 
not  be  anything  else  but  a  dog,  so  I  gave  it  a  kick  and  sent  it  flying 
into  the  barn  below,  where  I  heard  it  fall  with  a  heavy  thud. 
When  I  had  foddered  the  horse,  I  went  into  the  barn  and  took 
the  handle  of  an  old  rake  to  chase  the  dosr  out  with.  I  looked 


and  searched,  but  there  was  no  dog  or  any  trace  of  it,  although 
there  wasn't  a  hole  big  enough  for  a  squirrel  to  escape  through. 
I  went  up  into  the  hay-loft,  but  there  was  no  dog  there  either,  but 
just  as  I  was  going  out  I  fell,  as  if  some  one  had  struck  the  legs 
right  from  under  me,  and  I  rolled  head  over  heels  down  the  barn- 
bridge  as  I  never  had  done  before.  When  I  got  on  my  legs  again. 


MATTHIAS  THE  HUNTER'S  STORIES.  35 

there  was  the  brownie  standing  in  the  door,  screaming  with  laughter 
till  his  red  cap  shook." 

In  this  manner  Matthias  kept  on  telling  about  fairies,  huldres, 
and  brownies,  till  we  came  to  Kulrudsaas,  whence  we  could 
see  the  large  plains  of  Upper  Romerike,  spread  out  before  us  and 
bathed  in  the  clear  moonlight ;  to  the  north  rose  the  Mistberg 
mountain  in  a  bluish  mist,  with  a  few  patches  of  snow  here  and 
there.  Straight  down  before  me  were  the  Heni  and  Gjerdrum 
churches.  These  were  sufficient  landmarks  for  me,  and  as  I  was 
well-known  in  the  district  from  having  formerly  shot  over  it,  I 
bade  my  guide  farewell,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to  reach  my 
destination  without  being  teazed  by  the  brownies,  or  tempted 
by  the  huldres. 


D  2 


THE    LAD   AND    THE    DEVIL. 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  lad,  who  went  along  a  road 
cracking  nuts.  He  happened  to  find  one  which  was  worm-eaten, 
and  shortly  afterwards  he  met  the  devil.  "  Is  it  true,"  said  the  lad, 
"  what  they  say,  that  the  devil  can  make  himself  as  small  as  he 
likes,  and  go  through  a  pin-hole  ? "  "  Yes,  of  course,"  answered  the 
devil.  "  Well,  let  me  see  you  do  it  ;  creep  into  this  nut  if  you  can," 
said  the  lad.  And  the  devil  did  it.  But  he  had  no  sooner  got 
through  the  worm-hole,  than  the  lad  put  a  small  peg  in  the  hole. 
"  I  have  got  you  safe,  now,"  he  said,  and  put  the  nut  in  his  pocket. 
When  he  had  walked  some  distance  he  came  to  a  smithy.  He  went 
in  there  and  asked  the  smith  if  he  would  crack  that  nut  for  him. 
"Yes,  that's  easily  done,"  said  the  smith,  and  took  the  smallest 


THE  LAD  AND  THE  DEVIL. 


39 


hammer  he  had,  laid  the  nut  on  the  anvil,  and  gave  it  a  blow,  but  it 
didn't  break.  So  he  took  a  somewhat  bigger  hammer,  but  that 
wasn't  heavy  enough  either ;  then  he  took  a  still  bigger  one,  but 
no, — the  nut  would  not  break.  This  made  the  smith  angry,  and  he 
seized  the  big  sledge-hammer.  "I  shall  soon  make  bits  of  you," 
he  said,  and  he  gave  the  nut  such  a  blow  that  it  went  into  a  thousand 
pieces,  and  sent  half  the  roof  of  the  smithy  flying  in  the  air.  Such 
a  crash  !  just  as  if  the  hut  were  tumbling  together. 

"  I  think  the  devil  was  in  the  nut,"  said  the  smith. 

"  So  he  was,"  said  the  lad. 


THE    MAN    WHO   WAS    GOING   TO    MIND 
THE    HOUSE. 


THERE  was  once  upon  a  time  a  man  who  was  always  cross  and 
surly,  and  he  was  always  telling  his  wife  that  she  didn't  do  enough 


THE  MAN  WHO  WAS  GOING  TO  MIND  THE  HOUSE.       41 

of  work  in  the  house.  So  one  evening  in  the  hay-making  time 
he  came  home  and  began  to  scold  and  swear  all  over  the  house. 
"  Dear  me,  don't  get  into  such  a  temper,"  said  the  gudewife  ;  "  to- 


morrow we  will  try  and  change  our  work.  I'll  go  with  the  mowers 
and  mow  the  hay,  and  you  can  stop  at  home  and  mind  the  house." 
Yes,  the  husband  rather  liked  that,  and  he  was  quite  willing  for 
his  part.  Early  next  morning  the  gudewife  took  a  scythe  on 


42      THE  MAN  WHO  WAS  GOING  TO  MIND  THE  HOUSE. 

her  shoulder,  and  went  out  in  the  fields  with  the  hay-mowers  to 
mow.  But  the  man  was  to  do  the  work  in  the  house. 

He  thought  he  would  churn  the  butter  first  of  all,  but  when  he 
had  churned  a  while,  he  became  thirsty  and  went  down  into  the 
cellar  to  draw  some  beer.  While  he  was  busy  filling  the  bowl, 
he  heard  that  the  pig  had  got  into  the  room  above.  Away  he  ran 
up  the  cellar  stairs  with  the  tap  in  his  hand,  just  to  see  the  pig 
didn't  upset  the  churn,  but  when  he  saw  that  the  pig  had  already 
knocked  the  churn  over,  and  stood  there  licking  up  the  fine 
cream,  which  was  running  over  the  floor,  he  got  so  furiously  wild 
that  he  forgot  the  beer-barrel  and  turned  round  on  the  pig.  He 
got  hold  of  it  in  the  doorway  and  gave  it  such  a  tremendous  kick, 
that  it  killed  the  poor  pig  on  the  spot.  All  at  once  he  remembered 
the  tap  he  had  in  his  hand,  but  when  he  went  down  into  the  cellar, 
all  th?  beer  had  run  out  of  the  barrel. 

He  then  went  into  the  larder,  and  found  cream  enough  to  fill 
the  churn  again,  and  so  he  commenced  churning  once  more,  for 
butter  he  would  have  by  dinner-time.  When  he  had  churned 
some  time  he  recollected  that  the  cow,  which  they  kept  at 
home,  hadn't  been  let  out  of  the  cow-house,  and  hadn't  had 
a  straw  of  hay  or  anything  to  drink,  although  it  was  late  in  the 
day.  He  thought  it  was  too  far  to  take  the  cow  to  the  field 
where  she  generally  grazed,  so  it  struck  him  he  would  put  her 
on  the  roof;  the  cottage  had  a  turf-roof,  and  there  was  a  splendid 
crop  of  grass  growing  there.  The  cottage  lay  close  to  a  steep 
little  hill,  and  if  he  placed  a  plank  between  this  and  the  roof, 
he  thought  he  could  easily  get  the  cow  up  there.  But  he  could 
not  leave  the  churn  very  well,  because  the  baby  was  crawling 
about  on  the  floor  and  he  thought  the  child  might  easily  upset  it. 
•  He  took  therefore  the  churn  on  his  back  and  went  out,  but  he 
thought  he  had  better  water  the  cow  first,  before  he  put  her 
on  the  roof.  So  he  took  a  bucket  to  get  some  water  from  the 
well  ;  but  as  he  stooped  down  to  pull  the  bucket  up,  all  the 
cream  ran  out  of  the  churn  over  his  neck  and  down  into  the  well. 
It  would  soon  be  dinner-time,  and  still  he  hadn't  got  any  butter, 
so  he  thought  he  had  better  boil  the  porridge  for  dinner,  and 


THE  MAN  WHO  WAS  GOING  TO  MIND  THE  HOUSE.       43 


hung  a  pot 
with  water  over 
the  fire.  When 
he  had  done 
this,  he  began 
to  feel  afraid 
that  the  cow 
might  fall  off 
the  roof  and 
break  her  legs 
or  her  neck,  so 
he  went  up  on 
the  roof  to  tie 
her  up.  The 
one  end  of  the 
rope  he  tied 
round  the  neck 
of  the  cow,  and 
the  other  he  let 
down  the  chim- 
ney and  tied 
round  his  leg 
when  he  came 
down,  for  the 
water  was  boil- 
ing already, 
and  he  must 
put  the  oatmeal 
in  and  begin  to 
make  the  por- 
ridge. While 
he  was  stirring 
it,  the  cow  fell 
off  the  roof 
and  dragged 
the  man  up 


5 


44       THE  MAN  WHO  WAS  GOING  TO  MIND  THE  HOUSE. 

the  chimney  by  the  rope  which  was  tied  to  his  leg ;  there  he  stuck, 
and  the  cow  hung  outside  against  the  wall  between  heaven  and  earth, 
for  she  could'neither  get  up  nor  down.  The  gudewife  had  waited 
in  seven  lengths  and  seven  breadths  for  her  husband  to  come  and 
call  the  people  home  to  dinner ;  but  she  saw  no  sign  of  him,  so 
she  thought  at  last  she  would  wait  no  longer,  but  go  home. 
When  she  saw  the  cow  hanging  so  awkwardly,  she  went  at  once 
and  cut  the  rope  with  her  scythe,  but  at  the  same  moment  her 
husband  came  down  the  chimney,  and  when  the  gudewife  went 
inside  he  was  standing  on  his  head  in  the  porridge  pot 


THE   CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST. 


Bright,    mid  the  skerries  of  the  Western  sea 

An  island  rides  upon  the  wave.     Yet  none 

May  know  its  beauty  ;  for  if  mortal  ship 

By  chance  should  drift  too  near  th'  enchanted  shore 

A  curtain  of  dark  mist  enshrouds  the  isle. 

No  eye  can  see  its  brightness,  and  no  foot 

May  leave  its  print  upon  the  golden  fields. 

'Tis  but  in  fancy  he  who  dwells  ashore 

May  picture,  in  the  longings  of  his  dreams, 

This  fairy  jewel  of  the  Western  sea. 


WHEN  the  fishermen  in  the  north  of  Norway  come  to  land,  they 
often  find  straw  stuck  between  the  rudder  and  the  stern-post,  or 
grain  in  the  stomach  of  the  fish.  It  is  then  said,  that  they  have 
sailed  over  Udrost  or  some  of  the  other  fairy-lands,  about  which  so 


46  THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST. 

many  legends  are  told  in  the  north.  These  fairy-lands  are  only  seen 
by  very  pious  people  or  by  those  who  are  gifted  with  second 
sight,  when  in  danger  of  their  lives  at  sea,  and  they  appear  where 
at  other  times  no  land  is  to  be  found.  The  supernatural  people 
who  live  here  have  farms  and  keep  cattle,  fish  and  own  ships,  like 
other  folks,  but  here  the  sun  shines  on  greener  pastures  and  richer 
corn  fields  than  -elsewhere  in  the  north  ;  and  fortunate,  indeed,  is  he 
who  has  landed  on  or  even  has  seen  one  of  these  sunny  isles  ; — "  he 
is  a  made  man,"  say  the  people  in  the  north.  An  old  ballad,  in 
the  style  of  Peder  Dass,  gives  a  full  description  of  an  island 
off  Traenen  in  Helgeland,  called  Sandflsesen,  with  rich  fisheries 
and  abounding  with  game  of  all  sorts.  In  the  middle  of  the 
Vestford  a  large  flat  land  with  rich  corn  fields  also  appears, 
but  it  only  rises  high  enough  above  the  surface  of  the  water 
to  leave  the  ears  of  the  corn  dry ;  and  outside  Rost,  off  the 
southern  point  of  the  Lofoten  islands,  a  similar  fairy  land  with 
green  hills  and  golden  barley  fields  is  spoken  of,  which  is  called 
Udrost.  The  farmer  on  Udrost  owns  his  fishing-smack  just  like 
any  other  farmer  in  the  north ;  sometimes  the  fishermen  see  it 
under  full  sails,  and  steering  right  down  upon  them,  but  just  as 
they  expect  to  be  run  down,  it  disappears. 


On  Vsero,  not  far  from  Rost,  lived  once  a  poor  fisherman, 
whose  name  was  Isaac.  All  he  possessed  was  a  boat  and  a 
couple  of  goats,  which  his  wife  managed  to  keep  alive  on  fish- 
offal,  and  the  few  stray  wisps  of  grass  to  be  found  on  the  neigh- 
bouring cliffs  ;  but  he  had  a  whole  cottage  full  of  hungry 
children.  But  still  Isaac  seemed  always  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  lot  Providence  had  ordained  for  him.  His  only  complaint 
was,  that  he  could  never  be  left  in  peace  by  his  neighbour, 
who  was  a  well-to-do  man,  and  fancied  that  he  ought  to  have 
everything  better  than  such  riff-raff  as  Isaac.  He  wanted, 


THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST. 


47 


therefore,  to  get  rid  of  Isaac  that  he  might  have  the  harbour  in 
front  of  Isaac's  cottage. 

One  day  when  Isaac  was  out  fishing  a  good  many  miles 
out  at  sea  a  thick,  dark  fog  came  upon  him,  and  before  long 
a  tremendous  gale  broke  loose,  and  raged  with  such  a  fury 
that  he  had  to  throw  all  the  fish  overboard  to  lighten  the  boat 
and  so  save  his  life. 

Still  it  was  no  easy  task  to  keep  the  boat  afloat ;  but  he  knew 
well  how  to  handle  his  little  craft,  and  how  to  steer  her  among 


the  heavy  seas,  which  every  moment  threatened  to  swamp  her. 
When  he  had  been  sailing  at  this  rate  for  five  or  six  hours,  he 
thought  he  ought  soon  to  sight  land  somewhere.  But  hour  after 
hour  passed  and  the  storm  and  the  thick  fog  got  worse  and  worse. 
Then  it  dawned  upon  him  that  he  must  be  steering  right  out  to 
sea,  or  that  the  wind  had  shifted  ;  and  at  last  he  felt  sure  that 
he  must  have  guessed  right,  for  he  sailed  and  sailed,  but  saw 
no  sign  of  land.  All  of  a  sudden  he  heard  a  terrible  scream  ahead, 
and  he  thought  it  must  be  the  bogie  singing  his  dirge.  He 
prayed  for  his  wife  and  children,  for  he  knew  now  that  his  last 


48  THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST. 


hour  had  come  ;  but  whi-le  he  sat  and  prayed  he  caught  sight 
of  something  black,  and  as  he  came  nearer  he  saw  it  was  only  three 
cormorants  sitting  on  a  piece  of  drift-wood  ;  the  next  moment  he 
had  sailed  past  them.  So  the  time  wore  on,  and  he  began  to 
feel  so  thirsty  and  so  hungry  and  so  tired  that  he  did  not  for  the 
life  of  him  know  what  to  do.  He  sat  half  asleep  with  the  tiller  in 
his  hand,  when  all  at  once  the  boat  grated  against  the  beach  and 
ran  aground.  Isaac  was  not  long  in  getting  his  eyes  open.  The 
sun  was  breaking  through  the  fog  and  shone  upon  a  splendid 
country ;  the  hills  and  the  cliffs  were  green  right  to  the  top,  with 
meadows  and  cornfields  on  the  slopes,  and  he  thought  he  felt  a 
scent  of  flowers  and  grass  which  he  never  had  felt  before. 

"  The  Lord  be  praised,'  said  Isaac  to  himself.  "  I  am  safe  now; 
this  must  be  Udrost."  Straight  before  him  was  a  field  of  barley  with 
ears  so  large  and  full  that  he  had  never  seen  their  like,  and  through 
this  field  a  narrow  path  led  up  to  a  green  turf-roofed  hut  at  the 
other  end  of  the  cornfield.  On  the  roof  of  the  hut  was  a  white 
goat  with  gilt  horns,  grazing  ;  its  udder  was  as  large  as  the  largest 
cow's.  Outside  the  hut  sat  a  little  old  man  on  a  wooden  stool, 
smoking  a  cutty-pipe.  He  was  dressed  in  blue,  and  had  a  full 
long  beard  which  reached  down  to  his  waist. 

"  Welcome  to  Udrost,  Isaac  !  "  said  the  old  man. 

"  Thank  you  ! "  answered  Isaac.     "  You  know  me  then  ? " 

"  Perhaps  I  do,"  said  the  man.  "  You  want  to  stop  here  to- 
night, I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Well,  if  I  might  I  should  like  nothing  better,"  said  Isaac. 

"  It's  rather  awkward  with  those  sons  of  mine,"  said  the  old 
man  ;  "  they  don't  like  the  smell  of  Christians.  Have  you  not  met 
them  ? " 

"  No,  I  have  met  nothing  but  three  cormorants,  which  were 
sitting  on  a  bit  of  drift-wood  screeching." 

"  Yes,  those  were  my  sons,  those  were,"  said  the  old  man,  as  he 
knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe.  "  You  had  better  go  inside  in 
the  meantime.  I  suppose  you  are  both  hungry  and  thirsty  ? " 

"  Thanks  for  your  offer,  my  friend,"  said  Isaac.  But  when  the 
man  opened  the  door,  he  found  it  was  such  a  fine  and  grand  place 


THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST.         49 

inside,  that  he  was  quite  taken  aback.  He  had  never  seen  any- 
thing like  it  before.  The  table  was  covered  with  the  most  splendid 
dishes,  sea  perch  and  sour  cream,  venison  and  cod-liver  stew  with 
treacle  and  cheese,  heaps  of  cakes,  brandy,  beer  and  mead,  in  fact, 
everything  that  was  good.  Isaac  ate  and  drank  as  much  as  he 
was  able,  but  still  his  plate  never  became  empty,  and  although  he 
drank  a  good  deal,  his  glass  was  always  full.  The  old  man  did 
not  eat  much,  and  he  did  not  speak  much  either;  but  just  as  they 
were  sitting,  they  heard  a  scream  and  a  great  noise  outside. 
The  old  man  went  out,  and  soon  came  back  with  his  three  sons. 
Isaac  felt  just  a  little  queer  when  they  came  in,  but  the  old  man 
must  have  been  telling  them  to  behave  themselves,  for  they  were 
kind  and  pleasant  enough.  They  said  he  must  follow  their  custom 
and  sit  down  and  drink  with  them,  for  Isaac  was  going  to  leave 
the  table  ;  he  had  been  doing  very  well,  he  said.  But  he  did 
as  they  wished,  and  they  drank  glass  after  glass,  and  now  and  then 
they  took  a  pull  at  the  beer  and  the  mead.  They  became  good 
friends  and  got  on  very  well  together.  Isaac  must  go  fishing  a 
trip  or  two  with  them,  they  said,  so  that  he  could  have  something 
to  take  home  with  him  when  he  went  away. 

The  first  trip  they  made  was  in  a  terrible  gale.  One  of  the 
sons  was  steering,  the  other  held  the  sheet,  and  the  third  son 
was  'midships,  while  Isaac  bailed  out  the  water  with  a  big  scoop 
until  the  perspiration  ran  down  his  back  in  big  drops.  They 
sailed  as  if  they  were  stark  mad  ;  they  never  took  in  a  reef  in  the 
sail,  and  when  the  seas  filled  the  boat,  they  sailed  her  up  on  the 
back  of  a  wave  till  she  stood  nearly  on  end,  the  water  rushing  out 
over  her  stern  as  out  of  a  spout.  Shortly  the  storm  abated,  and 
they  commenced  to  fish.  The  fish  were  so  thickly  packed, 
that  the  lead  could  not  reach  the  bottom.  The  young  men 
from  Udrost  hauled  in  one  fish  after  another,  and  Isaac  had 
also  plenty  of  bites,  but  he  had  brought  his  own  fishing  tackle 
with  him,  and  every  time  he  got  a  fish  as  far  as  the  gunwale 
it  got  off;  he  did  not  catch  as  much  as  the  tail  of  one.  When 
the  boat  was  full,  they  sailed  home  to  Udrost.  The  sons  cut  up 
the  fish,  and  cleaned  them  and  hung  them  up  across  some  poles  to 

E 


50  THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST. 

dry,  but  Isaac  could  only  complain  of  his  bad  fortune  to  the  old  man, 
who  promised  him  better  luck  next  time  and  gave  him  a  couple  of 
fish-hooks.  The  next  time  they  went  out  fishing  Isaac  caught 
as  much  fish  as  the  others,  and  when  they  came  ashore  and  hung 
up  their  fish,  he  had  three  long  poles  full  for  his  share. 

Isaac  soon  began  to  feel  homesick,  and  when  he  was  leaving  the 
old  man  made  him  a  present  of  a  new  eight-oared  boat,  filled  with 
bags  of  flour,  canvas,  and  other  useful  things,  for  which  Isaac 
tendered  his  best  thanks.  The  old  man  told  him  to  come  back 
again  by  the  time  the  fishing  smacks  were  about  to  start  for  their 
yearly  trips  to  Bergen,  where  he  was  going  himself  with  a  cargo, 
and  Isaac  could  go  with  him  and  sell  his  fish.  Yes,  Isaac  would 
be  pleased  to  do  that,  and  asked  what  course  he  was  to  steer  when 
he  sailed  for  Udrost  again. 

"  Straight  after  the  cormorants,  when  they  fly  to  sea,"  said  the 
man.  "  That's  your  right  course,  and  a  safe  journey  to  you  !  " 

But  when  Isaac  had  shoved  off  from  the  shore  and  turned  round 
to  give  his  friends  a  farewell  look,  Udrost  was  not  to  be  seen  any 
more  ;  he  saw  only  the  open  sea  far  and  near. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  smacks  to  start,  Isaac  arrived  at 
Udrost.  But  such  a  smack  as  the  old  man  had  Isaac  had  never 
seen  before ;  it  was  two  cables  long,  and  the  mate,  who  stood 
forward  on  the  look  out,  could  not  shout  loud  enough  to  make 
himself  heard  by  the  man  at  the  helm.  They  had  therefore  to 
station  another  man  amidships  close  to  the  mast,  and  he  had  to  sing 
out  to  the  man  at  the  helm,  and  even  then  he  had  to  shout  as 
loud  as  he  could  to  make  himself  heard.  Isaac's  share  of  the 
cargo  was  stowed  forward  in  the  smack  ;  he  took  the  fish  down  off 
the  poles  himself,  but  he  could  not  make  out  how  it  came  to  pass, 
for  as  soon  as  he  took  the  fish  off  the  poles,  they  were  full  of 
new  fish  again,  and  when  they  sailed,  there  was  just  as  much 
fish  as  when  he  came.  When  he  came  to  Bergen,  he  sold  his  fish, 
and  got  so  much  money,  that  he  bought  a  new  smack,  with  cargo 
and  everything  that  was  wanted  for  a  good  outfit,  just  as  the 
old  man  had  advised  him  to  do.  Late  in  the  evening  before  he 
was  going  to  sail,  the  old  man  came  on  board  to  him  and  asked 


THE  CORMORANTS  OF  UDROST. 


him  not  to  forget  those  whom  his  neighbour  had  left  behind 
him,  when  he  was  lost  at  sea,  and  then  he  prophesied  Isaac 
good  luck  with  his  smack. 

"  Everything  on  board  is  sound  and  good,  and  you  may  be  sure 
that  all  aloft  will  stand,"  said  he,  meaning  that  there  would  always 
be  one  on  board  whom  nobody  could  see,  who  at  a  pinch  would  put 
his  back  to  the  mast  and  steady  it.  Isaac  was  always  very 
successful  after  that  time.  He  knew  well  where  his  good  luck  came 
from,  and  he  never  forgot  to  provide  well  for  the  man  who  kept 
watch  on  board  when  the  smack  was  laid  up  for  the  winter,  and 
every  Christmas  Eve  there  was  such  a  glare  of  l;ght  from  the  smack 
that  it  could  be  seen  afar  off,  and  then  you  could  hear  the  sound 
of  fiddles  and  music,  and  laughter,  and  merriment,  while  there  was 
dancing  going  on  in  the  cabin  of  the  smack. 


3e 


E   2 


THE    GIANT   WHO    HAD    NO    HEART. 


THERE  was  once  upon  a 
time  a  king  who  had  seven 
sons.  He  loved  them  all 
so  much  that  he  could  never 
do  without  them  all  at  once  ; 
one  had  always  to  be  with  him.  When  they  were  grown  up,  six  of 
them  set  out  to  woo.  But  the  father  kept  the  youngest  son  at 
home,  and  for  him  the  others  were  to  bring  back  a  princess  to  the 
palace.  The  king  gave  the  six  the  finest  clothes  you  ever  set  your 


THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART.  55 

eyes  upon,  and  you  could  see  the  glitter  of  them  a  long  way  off, 
and  each  had  his  own  horse,  which  cost  many,  many  hundred 
dollars,  and  so  they  set  out  on  the  journey. 

After  having  been  to  many  royal  palaces  and  seen  all  the 
princesses  there,  they  came  at  last  to  a  king  who  had  six  daughters  ; 
such  lovely  princesses  they  had  never  seen,  and  so  each  of  them 
began  wooing  one  of  the  six  sisters,  and  when  they  had  got  them 
for  sweethearts,  they  set  out  for  home  again  ;  but  they  quite  forgot 
to  bring  a  princess  with  them  for  Ashiepattle,1  who  was  left 
at  home,  so  busy  were  they  making  love  to  their  sweethearts. 

When  they  had  journeyed  a  good  bit  of  the  way,  they  passed 
close  to  the  side  of  a  steep  mountain,  where  there  was  a  giant's 
castle.  As  soon  as  the  giant  saw  them,  he  came  out  and  turned 
them  all,  princes  and  princesses,  into  stone.  But  the  king  waited 
and  waited  for  his  six  sons,  but  no  sons  came.  He  was  very  sad, 
and  said  that  he  should  never  be  glad  again.  "  Had  you  not  been 
left  to  me,"  he  said  to  Ashiepattle,  "  I  should  not  care  to  live  any 
longer.  I  am  so  sad  because  I  have  lost  your  brothers." — "  But  I 
have  been  thinking  to  ask  for  leave  to  set  out  and  find  them, 
I  have,"  said  Ashiepattle. — "  No,  I  cannot  let  you  go,"  said  his 
father  ;  "  I  shall  lose  you  as  well."  But  Ashiepattle  would  go,  and 
he  begged  and  prayed  till  the  king  gave  him  leave  to  go.  The 
king  had  no  other  horse  to  give  him  but  an  old  jade,  for  his 
six  brothers  and  their  men  had  taken  all  the  other  horses, 
but  Ashiepattle  did  not  mind  that ;  he  mounted  the  shabby 
old  nag. 

"  Good-bye,  father,"  said  he  to  the  king,  "  I  shall  come  back, 
sure  enough,  and  who  knows  but  I  shall  have  my  six  brothers 
with  me  as  well,"  and  off  he  started. 

Well,  when  he  had  got  a  bit  on  his  way,  he  came  to  a  raven, 
which  was  lying  in  the  road  flapping  his  wings,  and  was  unable  to 
get  out  of  his  way,  it  was  so  famished.  "  Oh,  dear  friend,  give  me 
something  to  eat,  and  I  will  help  you  in  your  utmost  need,"  said 
the  raven. — "  Very  little  food  have  I,"  said  the  prince,  "  and  you 

1  The  favourite  hero  of  most  Norwegian  fairy  tales  is  called  "Askeladen,"  a 
sort  of  a  male  "  Cinderella,"  and  is  always  the  youngest  son  of  the  family. 


56  THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART. 

don't  look  as  if  you  could  help  me  much  either,  but  a  little  I  must 
give  you,  for  you  want  it  badly,  I  see,"  and  then  he  gave  the  raven 
some  of  the  food  he  had  with  him.  When  he  had  travelled  some 
distance  further,  he  came  to  a  stream.  There  he  saw  a  big  salmon, 
which  had  got  ashore  and  was  dashing  and  knocking  himself  about 
and  could  not  get  into  the  water  again.  "  Oh,  dear  friend !  help 
me  into  the  water  again,"  said  the  salmon  to  the  prince,  "and 
I  will  help  you  in  your  utmost  need." — "  I  don't  suppose  it  can  be 
much  of  a  help  you  can  give  me,"  said  the  prince,  "  but  it  is  a  pity 
you  should  lie  there  and  very  likely  perish,"  so  he  shoved  the  fish 
into  the  stream  again.  So  he  travelled  a  long,  long  way,  till  he  met 
a  wolf,  which  was  so  famished  that  he  was  only  able  to  drag 
himself  along  the  road.  "  Dear  friend,  give  me  your  horse,"  said 
tne  wolf.  "  I  am  so  hungry,  I  hear  the  wind  whistling  in  my 
empty  stomach.  I  have  had  nothing  to  eat  for  two  years." — "  No," 
said  Ashiepattle,  "  I  can't  do  it ;  first  I  came  to  a  raven  which  I 
had  to  give  all  my  food  to  ;  then  I  came  to  a  salmon  which  I  had 
to  help  back  into  the  water  ;  and  now  you  want  my  horse.  But 
that  is  impossible,  for  then  I  should  have  nothing  to  ride  upon." — 
"Yes,  yes,  my  friend,  but  you  must  help  me,"  said  the  wolf,  "you 
can  ride  on  me  instead  ;  I  shall  help  you  again  in  your  utmost 
need." — "Well,  the  help  you  can  give  me  will  not  be  great ;  but  I 
suppose  you  must  have  the  horse  then,  since  you  are  so  needy," 
said  the  prince.  And  when  the  wolf  had  finished  the  horse 
Ashiepattle  took  the  bridle  and  put  the  bit  in  the  wolf's  mouth 
and  the  saddle  on  his  back,  and  the  wolf  felt  now  so  strong  and 
well  after  what  he  had  had  to  eat,  that  he  set  off  with  the  prince  as 
if  he  were  nothing  at  all  ;  Ashiepattle  had  never  ridden  so  fast  before. 
"  When  we  get  a  little  bit  further  I  will  show  you  a  giant's 
castle,"  said  the  wolf,  and  in  a  little  while  they  came  there.  "  See, 
here  is  the  giant's  castle,"  said  the  wolf  again,  "  and  there  you  see 
all  your  six  brothers,  whom  the  giant  has  turned  into  stone,  and 
there  are  their  six  brides.  Over  yonder  is  the  door  of  the  castle,  and 
you  must  go  in  there." — "  I  dare  not,"  said  the  prince,  "the  giant 
will  kill  me." — "Not  at  all,"  answered  the  wolf;  "when  you  go 
in  there  you  will  meet  a  princess.  She  will  tell  you  what  to  do  to 


THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART.  57 

make  an  end  of  the  giant.  Only  do  as  she  tells  you."  Well, 
Ashiepattle  went  into  the  castle,  but  to  tell  the  truth  he  felt  rather 
afraid.  When  he  got  inside,  he  found  the  giant  was  out;  but  in 
a  chamber  sat  the  princess,  just  as  the  wolf  had  said.  Such  a  lovely 
maiden  Ashiepattle  had  never  seen  before. 

"  Good  heavens !  what  has  brought  you  here  ?  "  said  the  princess, 
as  soon  as  she  saw  him.  "  It's  sure  to  be  your  death  ;  no  one 
can  kill  the  giant  who  lives  here,  for  he  hasn't  got  any  heart." 
— "  But  now  when  I  am  here,  I  suppose  I  had  better  try  my 
strength  with  him,"  said  Ashiepattle,  "  and  I  must  see  if  I  can't 
release  my  brothers  who  are  standing  outside  here,  turned  into 
stone,  and  I  will  try  to  save  you  as  well." — "  Well,  since  you  will 
stop,  we  must  try  and  do  the  best  we  can,"  said  the  princess. 
"  You  must  creep  under  the  bed  over  there  and  listen  well  to  what 
he  says  when  I  speak  with  him,  and  be  sure  to  lie  as  quiet  as 
you  can." 

So  Ashiepattle  crept  under  the  bed,  and  no  sooner  had  he  done 
so  than  the  giant  came  home.  "  Ugh,  what  a  smell  of  Christian 
blood  there  is  here,"  shouted  the  giant. — "Yes,  a  magpie  flew  over 
the  house  with  a  man's  bone  and  let  it  fall  down  the  chimney," 
said  the  princess ;  "  I  made  haste  to  throw  it  out,  but  the  smell 
doesn't  go  away  so  soon."  So  the  giant  said  no  more  about  it, 
and  when  evening  came,  they  went  to  bed.  When  they  had  lain 
a  while,  the  princess  said  :  "  There  is  one  thing  I  wanted  so  very 
much  to  ask  you  about,  if  I  only  dared." — "  Well,  what  can  that 
be  ? "  asked  the  giant. — "  I  should  so  like  to  know  where  your 
heart  is,  since  you  don't  carry  it  about  you,"  said  the  princess. — 
"  Oh,  that's  a  thing  you  needn't  know  anything  about,"  said  the 
giant,  "  but  if  you  must  know,  it's  under  the  stone  slab  in  front  of 
the  door." — "  Ah,  ha !  we  shall  soon  see  if  we  can't  find  that,"  said 
Ashiepattle  to  himself  under  the  bed. 

Next  morning  the  giant  got  up  very  early  and  set  out  for  the 
wood,  but  no  sooner  was  he  out  of  sight  than  Ashiepattle  and  the 
princess  commenced  looking  for  the  heart  under  the  door-slab,  but 
although  they  dug  and  searched  all  they  could,  they  could  not 
find  anything.  "  He  has  made  a  fool  of  me  this  time,"  said  the 


THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART. 


princess  ;  "  but  I  must  try  him  again."  So  she  picked  all  the 
prettiest  flowers  she  could  find  and  strewed  them  over  the  door- 
slab,  which  they  put  in  its  right  place  again.  When  the  time 
came  for  the  giant  to  return  home,  Ashiepattle  crept  under  the 
bed,  and  he  had  scarcely  got  well  under  before  the  giant  came  in. 
"  Ugh,  what  a  smell  of  Christian  blood  there  is  here,"  screamed  the 
giant. — "  Yes,  a  magpie  flew  over  the  house  and  dropped  a  man's 
bone  down  the  chimney,"  said  the  princess  ;  "  I  made  haste  to 
clear  it  away,  but  I  suppose  the  smell  hasn't  gone  away  yet." — 
So  the  giant  said  no  more  about  it,  but  in  a  little  while  he  asked 
who  it  was  that  had  been  strewing  flowers  around  the  door-slab. 
"  Why,  I,  of  course,"  said  the  princess. — "  And  what's  the  meaning 
of  it  ? "  asked  the  giant. — "  Well,  you  know  I  am  so  fond  of  you," 
said  the  princess,  "  that  I  couldn't  help  doing  it  when  I  knew  that 
your  heart  was  lying  under  there." — "  Ah,  indeed,"  said  the  giant, 
"  but  it  isn't  there  after  all." 

When  they  had  gone  to  bed  in  the  evening,  the  princess  asked 
again  where  his  heart  was,  because  she  was  so  very  fond  of  him, 
she  said,  that  she  would  so  like  to  know  it.  "  Oh,  it's  over  in  the 
cupboard  on  the  wall  there,"  said  the  giant.  Ah,  ha,  thought  both 
Ashiepattle  and  the  princess,  we  will  soon  try  to  find  it.  Next 
morning  the  giant  was  early  out  of  bed,  and  made  for  the  wood 
again,  but  the  moment  he  was  gone  Ashiepattle  and  the  princess 
were  looking  in  the  cupboard  for  the  heart,  but  they  looked  and 
searched  and  found  no  heart.  "  Well,  we  must  try  once  more," 
said  the  princess.  She  hung  flowers  and  garlands  around  the 
cupboard,  and  when  the  evening  came  Ashiepattle  crept  under  the 
bed  again.  Shortly  the  giant  came  in.  "  Ugh,  Ugh  ! "  he  roared, 
"what  a  smell  of  Christian  blood  there  is  here." — "Yes,  a  magpie 
flew  past  here  just  now,  and  dropped  a  man's  bone  down  the 
chimney,"  said  the  princess  ;  "  I  made  haste  to  throw  it  out,  but  I 
suppose  that's  what  you  still  smell."  When  the  giant  heard  this, 
he  said  no  more  about  it;  but  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  cupboard 
decked  out  with  flowers  and  garlands,  he  asked  who  it  was  that 
had  done  that.  It  was  the  princess,  of  course.  "  But  what's  the 
meaning  of  all  this  foolery  ? "  asked  the  giant. — "  Well,  you  know 


THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART. 


59 


how  fond  I  am  of  you,"  said  the  princess  ;  "  I  couldn't  help  doing 
it,  when  I  knew  your  heart  was  there." — "  How  can  you  be  so 
foolish  to  believe  it  ? "  said  the  giant. — "  Well,  how  can  I  help  be- 
lieving it  when  you  say  so  ?  "  answered  the  princess. —  "  Oh,  you  are 
a  foolish  creature,"  said  the  giant, 
"  you  can  never  go  where  my  heart 
is  !  " — "  Ah,  well,"  said  the  prin- 
cess, "  but  I  should  like  to  know 
for  all  that  where  it  is." — So  the 
giant  could  not  refuse  to  tell  her 
any  longer,  and  he  said  :  "  Far,  far 
away  in  a  lake  lies  an  island, — 
on  that  island  stands  a  church, — 
in  that  church  there  is  a  well, — 
in  that  well  swims  a  duck, — in  that 
duck  there  is  an  egg, — and  in  the 
egg — well,  there  is  my  heart." 

Early  next  morning,  almost  be- 
fore the  dawn  of  day,  the  giant 
set  out  for  the  wood  again.  "  Well, 
I  suppose  I  had  better  start  as 
well,"  said  Ashiepattle ;  "  I  wish 
I  only  knew  the  way ! "  He  said 
farewell  to  the  princess  for  a  time, 
and  when  he  came  outside  the 
castle  there  was  the  wolf  still  wait- 
ing for  him.  He  told  the  wolf 
what  had  happened  inside,  and 
that  he  was  now  going  to  set  out 
for  the  well  in  the  church,  if  he 
only  knew  the  way.  The  wolf 
asked  him  to  jump  on  his  back, 
— he  would  try  and  find  the  way, 
sure  enough,  he  said,  and  away  they  went  over  hills  and  mountains, 
over  fields  and  valleys,  while  the  wind  whistled  about  them.  When 


60  THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART. 

they  had  travelled  many,  many  days,  they  came  at  last  to  the  lake. 
The  prince  did  not  know  how  he  should  get  across  it ;  but  the  wolf 
asked  him  only  not  to  be  afraid,  and  then  he  plunged  into  the 
water  with  the  prince  on  his  back  and  swam  across  to  the  island. 
When  they  came  to  the  church,  they  found  the  key  for  the 
church-door  hanging  high,  high  up  on  the  steeple,  and  at  first  the 
young  prince  did  not  know  how  to  get  hold  of  it.  "  You  will  have 
to  call  the  raven,"  said  the  wolf,  which  the  prince  did.  The  raven 
came  at  once,  and  flew  up  for  the  key,  and  so  the  prince  got  inside 
the  church.  When  he  came  to  the  well,  the  duck  was  there  sure 
enough.  It  was  swimming  about  just  as  the  giant  had  said.  He 
commenced  calling  and  calling,  and  at  last  he  lured  her  up  to  him 
and  caught  her.  But  just  as  he  was  lifting  her  out  of  the  water, 
the  duck  let  the  egg  fall  in  the  well ;  and  Ashiepattle  didn't  know 
how  to  get  it  up  again.  "  You  had  better  call  the  salmon/'  said 
the  wolf,  which  the  prince  did.  The  salmon  came  and  fetched  the 
egg  from  the  bottom  of  the  well.  The  wolf  then  told  him  to 
squeeze  the  egg,  and  as  soon  as  Ashiepattle  squeezed  it,  they 
heard  the  giant  screaming.  "  Squeeze  it  once  more,"  said  the  wolf, 
and  when  the  prince  did  so,  the  giant  screamed  still  more  piteously, 
and  prayed  so  nicely  and  gently  for  himself ;  he  would  do  all  the 
prince  wished,  if  he  only  wouldn't  squeeze  his  heart  to  pieces. — 
"  Tell  him,  that  if  he  will  give  you  back  again  alive  your  six 
brothers  and  their  brides,  which  he  turned  into  stone,  you  will 
spare  his  life,"  said  the  .wolf,  and  Ashiepattle  did  so. — Yes,  the 
giant  would  do  that  at  once,  and  he  restored  the  six  princes  and 
the  six  princesses  to  life. — "  Now,  squeeze  the  egg  to  pieces,"  said 
the  wolf.  Ashiepattle  squeezed  it  flat  between  his  hands,  and  the 
giant  burst. 

So  when  Ashiepattle  had  got  rid  of  the  giant,  he  rode  back 
again  on  his  friend,  the  wolf,  to  the  giant's  castle,  and  there  stood 
all  his  six  brothers  and  their  brides,  all  alive,  and  then  Ashiepattle 
went  into  the  mountain  for  his  own  bride,  and  they  all  set  out  for 
their  home,  the  royal  palace.  The  old  king  was  pleased,  I  can 
tell  you,  when  all  his  seven  sons  came  back,  each  with  his  bride. 


THE  GIANT  WHO  HAD  NO  HEART.  61 


"  But  the  loveliest  of  the  princesses  is  Ashiepattle's  bride  after 
all,"  said  the  king,  "and  he  shall  sit  at  the  top  of  the  table 
with  her. " 

And  then  the  wedding  came  off,  and  the  king  gave  a  grand 
feast  which  lasted  for  many  a  day,  and  if  they  have  not  done 
feasting  by  this,  why  they  are  still  at  it. 


THE    PANCAKEo 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  good  housewife,  who  had  seven 
hungry  children.  One  day  she  was  busy  frying  pancakes  for 
them,  and  this  time  she  had  used  new  milk  in  the  making  of 
them.  One  was  lying  in  the  pan,,  frizzling  away — ah  !  so  beautiful 
and  thick, — it  was  a  pleasure  to  look  at  it.  The  children  were 
standing  round  the  fire,  and  the  gcodman  sat  in  the  corner 
and  looked  on, 

"  Oh,  give  me  a  bit  of  pancake,  mother,  I  am  so  hungry ! " 
said  one  child. 

"Ah,  do!  dear  mother,"  said  the  second. 

"  Ah,  do !  dear,  good   mother,"  said   the  third. 

"  Ah,  do !  dear,  good,  kind  mother,"  said  the  fourth. 

"Ah,  do!  dear,  good,  kind,  nice  mother,"  said  the  fifth. 

"  Ah,  do !  dear,  good,  kind,  nice,  sweet  mother,"  said  the 
sixth. 

"  Ah,  do !  dear,  good,  kind,  nice,  sweet,  darling  mother,"  said 
the  seventh.  And  thus  they  were  all  begging  for  pancakes,  the 
one  more  prettily  than  the  other,  because  they  were  so  hungry, 
and  such  good  little  children, 

"  Yes,  children  dear,  wait  a  bit  till  it  turns  itself,"  she  answered 
— she  ought  to  have  said  "  till  I  turn  it " — "  and  then  you  shall 
all  have  pancakes,  beautiful  pancakes,  made  of  new  milk, — only 
look  how  thick  and  happy  it  lies  there." 

When  the  pancake  heard  this,  it  got  frightened,  and  all  of  a 
sudden,  it  turned  itself  and  wanted  to  get  out  of  the  pan, 
but  it  fell  down  in  it  again  on  the  other  side,  and  when  it  had 


THE  PANCAKE.  65 


been  fried  a  little  on  that  side  too,  it  felt  a  little  stronger  in 
the  back,  jumped  out  on  the  floor,  and  rolled  away,  like  a  wheel, 
right  through  the  door  and  down  the  road. 

"  Halloo  !  "  cried  the  goodwife,  and  away  she  ran  after  it,  with 
the  frying-pan  in  one  hand  and  the  ladle  in  the  other,  as  fast 
as  she  could,  and  the  children  behind  her,  while  the  goodman 
came  limping  after,  last  of  all. 

"  Halloo,  won't  you  stop  ? — Catch  it,  stop  it.  Halloo  there !  " 
they  all  screamed,  the  one  louder  than  the  other,  trying  to  catch 
it  on  the  run,  but  the  pancake  rolled  and  rolled,  and  before 
long,  it  was  so  far  ahead,  that  they  could  not  see  it,  for  the 
pancake  was  much  smarter  on  its  legs  than  any  of  them. 

When  it  had  rolled  a  time,  it  met  a  man. 

"  Good  day,  pancake ! "  said  the  man. 

"  Well  met,  Manny  Panny,"  said  the  pancake. 

"Dear  pancake,"  said  the  man,  "don't  roll  so  fast,  but  wait 
a  bit  and  let  me  eat  you." 

"  When  I  have  run  away  from  Goody  Poody  and  the  goodman 
and  seven  squalling  children,  I  must  run  away  from  you  too, 
Manny  Panny,"  said  the  pancake,  and  rolled  on  and  on,  till  it 
met  a  hen. 

"  Good  day,  pancake,"  said  the  hen. 

"  Good  day,  Henny  Penny,"  said  the  pancake. 

"  My  dear  pancake,  don't  roll  so  fast,  but  wait  a  bit  and  let 
me  eat  you,"  said  the  hen. 

"  When  I  have  run  away  from  Goody  Poody  and  the  goodman 
apd  seven  squalling  children,  and  from  Manny  Panny,  I  must 
run  away  from  you  too,  Henny  Penny,"  said  the  pancake,  and 
rolled  on  like  a  wheel  down  the  road.  Then  it  met  a  cock. 

"  Good  day,  pancake,"  said  the  cock. 

"  Good  day,  Cocky  Locky,"   said  the  pancake. 

"  My  dear  pancake,  don't  roll  so  fast,  but  wait  a  bit  and  let 
me  eat  you,"  said  the  cock. 

"  When  I  have  run  away  from  Goody  Poody  and  the  goodman 
and  seven  squalling  children,  from  Manny  Panny,  and  Henny 
Penny,  I  must  run  away  from  you  too,  Cocky  Locky,"  said  the 

F 


66  THE  PANCAKE. 


pancake,  and  rolled  and  rolled  on  as  fast  as  it  could.  When  it 
had  rolled  a  long  time,  it  met  a  duck. 

"  Good  day,  pancake,"  said  the  duck. 

"  Good  day.  Ducky  Lucky,"  said  the  pancake. 

"  My  dear  pancake,  don't  roll  so  fast,  but  wait  a  bit  and  let  me 
eat  you,"  said  the  duck. 

"When  I  have  run  away  from  Goody  Poody  and  the  good  man 
and  sever  squalling  children,  from  Manny  Panny,  and  Henny 
Penny,  and  Cocky  Locky,  I  must  run  away  from  you  too,  Ducky 
Lucky,"  said  the  pancake,  and  with  that  it  fell  to  rolling  and 
rolling  as  fast  as  ever  it  could.  When  it  had  rolled  a  long,  long 
time,  it  met  a  goose. 

"  Good  day,  pancake,"  said  the  goose, 

"  Good  day,  Goosey  Poosey,"  said  the  pancake. 

"  My  dear  pancake,  don't  roll  so  fast,  but  wait  a  bit  and  let  me 
eat  you,"  said  the  goose. 

"  When  I  have  run  away  from  Goody  Poody  and  the  goodman 
and  seven  squalling  children,  and  Manny  Panny,  and  Henny 
Penny,  and  Cocky  Locky,  and  Ducky  Lucky,  I  must  run  away 
from  you  too,  Goosey  Poosey,"  said  the  pancake,  and  away  it 
rolled.  So  when  it  had  rolled  a  long,  very  long  time,  it  met  a 
gander. 

"  Good  day,  pancake,"  said  the  gander. 

"  Good  day,  Gander  Pander,"  said  the  pancake. 

"  My  dear  pancake,  don't  roll  so  fast,  but  wait  a  bit  and  let  me 
eat  you,"  said  the  gander. 

"  When  I  have  run  away  from  Goody  Poody  and  the  goodman 
and  seven  squalling  children,  and  from  Manny  Panny,  and  Henny 
Penny,  and  Cocky  Locky,  and  Ducky  Lucky,  and  Goosey  Poosey, 
I  must  run  away  from  you  too,  Gander  Pander,"  said  the  pancake, 
and  rolled  and  rolled  as  fast  as  it  could.  When  it  had  rolled  on  a 
long,  long  time,  it  met  a  pig. 

"  Good  day,  pancake,"  said  the  pig. 

"  Good  day,  Piggy  Wiggy,"  said  the  pancake,  and  began  to  roll 
on  faster  than  ever. 

"  Nay,  wait  a  bit,"  said  the  pig,  "you  needn't  be  in  such  a  hurry- 


THE  PANCAKE.  67 


scurry  ;  we  two  can  walk  quietly  together  and  keep  each  other 
company  through  the  wood,  because  they  say  it  isn't  very  safe 
there." 

The  pancake  thought  there  might  be  something  in  that,  and  so 
they  walked  together  through  the  wood ;  but  when  they  had  gone 
some  distance,  they  came  to  a  brook. 

The  pig  was  so  fat  it  wasn't  much  trouble  for  him  to  swim  across, 
but  the  pancake  couldn't  get  over. 

"  Sit  on  my  snout,"  said  the  pig,  "  and  I  will  ferry  you  over." 

The  pancake  did  so. 

"  Ouf,  Ouf,"  grunted  the  pig,  and  swallowed  the  pancake  in  one 
gulp,  and  as  the  pancake  couldn't  get  any  farther, — well,  you  see 
we  can't  go  on  with  this  story  any  farther,  either. 


F  2 


A    DAY   WITH    THE   CAPERCAILZIES. 

EARLY  in  May — this  was  long  before  the  game  laws  had  been 
hatched — we  started  on  our  way  to  Skjoersjohaug,  according  to 
local  tradition  the  place  where  we  were  most  likely  to  see  the 
capercailzies  and  their  play.1  There  were  four  of  us, — my  friend 
the  captain,  myself,  an  old  sportsman  from  Sognedale,  called  Peter 
Sandaker,  and  a  smart  boy,  who  had  charge  of  two  brace  of 
hounds.  We  were  to  try  for  a  hare,  as  soon  as  our  sport  with  the 
capercailzies  was  over.  Down  in  the  valley  spring  had  fairly  set 
in,  but  when  we  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  we  found  snow  still 
lying  on  the  ground  and  in  deep  drifts  in  the  hollows.  The 
evening  was  still  very  warm,  and  the  birds  in  the  woods  were 
singing  in  praise  of  spring.  When  we  came  near  the  Ask  Dairy,2 
where  we  intended  to  spend  the  night,  we  turned  off  into  Skjoer- 
sjohaug, a  hill  well  known  to  every  sportsman  who  has  roamed 
through  these  woods.  We  made  for  this  hill  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  out  where  the  capercailzies  went  to  roost  for  the  night. 
When  we  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  we  had  a  fine  view  before  us. 
The  sun  was  about  to  set,  and  cast  his  golden  beams  across  a 
cloudless  sky.  The  landscape  before  us  was  not  of  a  friendly  or 
inviting  character ;  dark  forests  stretched  interminably  over  the 

1  In  the  pairing  season  the  capercailzie  cock  stations  himself  in  a  fir-tree  and 
commences  his  love  song,  or  "play,"  as  it  is  termed  in  Norway,  to  attract  the 
hens  about  him.     He  begins  his  play  with  a  call  something  resembling,  Peller, 
peller,  peller,  which  he  repeats  at  short  intervals  for  about  a  minute  ;  he  then 
makes  a  sort  of  gobble  in  his  throat,  and  finishes  with  snapping  his  beak.    During 
the  latter  part  of  his  performance,  his  head  is  thrown  up,  his  eyes  are  partially 
closed,  and  his  faculties  much  absorbed.    This  is  the  best  time  to  approach  him. 

2  In  the  summer  months  the  Norwegian  farmers  send  their  cattle  up  to  their 
mountain  pastures,  very  often  many  miles  from  the  farmhouses.     Each  farmer 
has  there  his  "  sceter"  or  dairy,  a  small  building  where  the  milk  is  kept  and  the 
butter  and  cheese  are  made,  and  where  the  dairy  maid  lives  during  these  months. 
For  the  rest  of  the  year  these  dairies  are  deserted. 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.  71 

hills,  which  surrounded  us  on  all  sides  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach ;  the  view  was  broken  only  by  an  ice-bound  Jake  here  and 
there  amid  the  extensive  bogs. 

We  had  not  been  there  long  after  sunset  before  we  heard  a 
rushing  sound  which  betrayed  the  flight  of  a  heavy  bird,  flying  to 
roost  in  a  neighbouring  tree. 

"  That  was  no  old  bird,"  said  the  captain  with  the  air  of  an 
expert,  when  the  bird  remained  silent  after  it  had  roosted. 

Soon  afterwards  two  other  capercailzies  came  sweeping  past  and 
settled  on  their  roost,  likewise  in  silence,  but  the  next  moment  we 
heard  a  fourth  bird  approaching  with  a  still  heavier  stroke  and  a 
still  louder  rush,  and  this  one  commenced  snapping  its  beak  as 
soon  as  it  had  roosted. 

"  That  fellow  was  not  born  yesterday.  He  is  the  cock  of  the 
walk  here,"  said  Peter ;  "  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  it  is  our  old  friend 
himself." 

Three  more  birds  came  in,  and  as  each  took  up  his  roosting 
place,  the  old  bird  repeated  his  challenge  by  snapping  his  beak  at 
them.  Two  made  no  answer,  but  the  third  made  the  same  sort  of 
snapping  sound  in  reply. 

"  He's  a  stranger,"  exclaimed  Peter,  "he  does  not  know  the  old 
one  ;  if  he  did,  he  would  have  held  his  tongue.  He'll  be  sorry  for 
it  in  the  morning,  believe  me,  when  our  old  friend  finds  him  out, 
for  he  is  not  one  to  be  played  with,  when  he  gets  his  temper  up. 
I  once  saw  what  a  dressing  he  gave  a  silly  chattering  fool,  that 
answered  his  challenge  some  time  before." 

As  he  spoke,  his  open  weather-beaten  face  assumed  a  curious 
grinning  expression,  which  was  heightened  by  some  remarkable 
sarcastic  folds  and  wrinkles,  evidently  called  forth  by  the  recollec- 
tion of  some  mysterious  story  or  another.  According  to  the 
description  our  captain  had  given  me  of  Peter  Sandaker  once 
when  he  had  dropped  behind  on  the  march,  he  was  particularly 
good  at  telling  tales  and  stories  about  goblin-birds,  doubles,  and 
fairies,  and  had  a  special  fancy  for  entering  into  the  most  minute 
details,  whenever  he  commenced  telling  about  one  or  the  other  of 
the  eighteen  bears  he  had  killed  in  his  time.  He  was  very  s'lent, 


72  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

however,  about  all  those  bears,  which  malicious  tongues  reported 
he  had  missed,  and  which  according  to  the  same  good  authority 
exceeded  the  number  he  had  shot. 

"  But  what  sort  of  a  fellow  is  this  big,  old  bird,  you  are  speaking 
about  ? "  I  asked. 

"  I'll  tell  you  all  about  him,"  said  the  captain  quickly,  as  we 
started  on  our  way  for  the  dairy.  He  was  apparently  afraid  that 
this  curt,  ill-timed  question  of  mine  would,  after  the  short  ac- 
quaintance I  had  with  Peter,  create  a  suspicion  in  his  mind  and 
probably  silence  him  altogether.  "  I'll  tell  you  about  him,"  con- 
tinued the  captain,  "  there  is  an  old  capercailzie  cock  on  this  pairing 
ground,  which  has  become  the  talk  of  the  whole  parish, — a  sort  of 
a  goblin-bird  in  fact.  The  sportsmen  about  here  call  him  the 
'  bleater,'  for  instead  of  sitting  quiet  on  his  branch  and  playing, 
he  flies  often  about  between  the  top  of  the  fir-trees,  bleating  like  a 
goat.  Not  before  this  performance  is  over  does  he  settle  down  to 
play,  and  commence  gobbling  and  snapping  his  beak.  Well,  that 
kind  of  playing,  there's  little  sense  in,  and  nobody  can  come  within 
shot  of  him.  He  plays  us,  however,  still  oftener  another  trick,  which 
is  still  worse  ;  he  sits  quietly  and  plays,  and  he  commences  his 
gobbling,  but  when  he  ought  to  begin  his  snapping,  he  flies  to 
another  tree.  If  anybody  by  chance  happens  to  hit  him,  the  shot 
has  no  effect.  Our  friend  Peter  here,  has  shot  at  him  both  with 
salt  and  silver,  but  although  the  feathers  flew  out,  he  didn't  seem 
to  take  any  more  notice  of  the  shot  than  if  the  charge  had  been  a 
blank  one.  The  next  morning  he  played  away  as  fast  as  ever  and 
out  of  tune  as  usual." 

"  You  might  as  well  shoot  at  a  stone,"  said  Peter,  with  the 
decisive  tone  of  one  fully  convinced.  "  I  came  across  him  once," 
he  continued,  "  when  he  was  playing  down  on  the  main  road  to 
Skaug ;  there  he  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  road  with  a  lot  of  hens 
around  him, — I  counted  seven,  and  there  were  more  round  about  in 
the  wood,  for  I  heard  them  clucking  and  calling  behind  every  bush. 
The  hens  on  the  ground  ran  around  him,  stretched  out  their  necks, 
trailed  their  wings  along  the  ground  and  showed  themselves  off  for 
him,  but  he  sat  on  the  ground  and  preened  his  feathers,  and  made 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.-  73 

himself  as  fine  and  haughty  as  a  Spanish  count.  All  at  once  he 
stuck  his  tail  up  and  spread  it  out  like  a  fan,  swept  the  ground 
with  his  wings,  and  jumped  right  up  in  the  air  as  high  as  this. 
Well,  I  didn't  know  it  was  that  fellow,  else  I  would  have  had  a 
shot  at  him  at  once,  before  he  had  time  to  make  himself  shot-proof, 
but  I  thought  it  was  great  fun  to  watch  him.  But  while  he  was  in 
the  middle  of  the  play,  another  cock,  a  big  one,  though  not  quite 
as  big  as  the  old  one,  came  sweeping  down  and  wanted  to  join  in 
the  play.  Then  came  the  real  fun  !  The  old  one  stuck  up  his  tail, 
and  his  beard  stuck  out  like  the  teeth  in  a  carding-comb  ;  he 
snapped  and  grated  his  beak,  till  he  set  my  teeth  on  edge, — and  the 
new  comer,  he  answered  the  challenge.  He  was  a  bold  one  to  be 
sure.  But  then  our  old  friend  rushed  at  him,  and  when  their  beaks 
and  wings  met,  the  crash  sounded  all  over  the  wood.  The  next 
moment  they  jumped  up  at  each  other  and  fought  with  their  beaks, 
their  wings,  and  their  claws,  and  they  were  so  wicked  that  they 
nearly  lost  all  sense  and  feeling,  and  I  thought  I  could  almost  walk 
up  and  catch  them  both  with  my  hands.  But  at  last  the  old  cock 
got  hold  of  the  other  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  beat  him  and 
knocked  him  about  in  such  a  way  till  I  fancied  I  heard  him  squeak. 
I  couldn't  help  pitying  the  poor  bird,  who  was  being  lugged  about 
by  the  top  of  his  head  in  this  way.  The  old  one  crushed  him  to 
the  ground  and  kept  him  under  him  till  he  almost  came  sliding  out 
over  the  hillside  on  top  of  him,  close  to  where  I  was  standing. 
Then  I  put  up  my  gun  in  an  instant.  There  was  a  report,  and  the 
strange  bird  lay  dead  on  the  spot,  but  the  old  one  stuck  to  him 
and  kept  pulling  at  him  ;  he  did  not  even  move  his  wings.  Aha  I 
I  thought,  if  you  are  so  sure  in  your  hold,  you  shall  soon  be  mine  ! 
I  loaded  again  and  was  just  going  to  take  aim  at  him,  when  he 
gave  himself  a  shake  and  flew  straight  up  in  the  air.  If  he  was 
further  than  ten  steps  from  me,  may  I  never  in  my  life  shoot  a 
bird  again. 

"  Another  time  I  was  up  here  and  heard,  just  like  to-night, 
where  he  went  to  roost  in  an  old  fir-tree.  I  went  out  early  in  the 
morning  long  before  there  was  a  bird  awake  in  the  woods.  But 
when  he  commenced  playing,  he  did  it  properly  that  time.  He 


74  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

played  away  till  the  tree  shook  ;  he  did  not  forget  the  gobbling 
and  snapping  this  time,  nor  did  he  stir  from  his  place  either. 
When  he  commenced  his  performance  for  the  fourth  time  I  had 
got  within  shot  of  him,  he  was  sitting  on  one  of  the  lower  branches 
close  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 

"  Now  you  are  mine,  thought  I,  for  instead  of  a  bullet  I  had 
loaded  with  a  silver  sixpence,  which  I  had  cut  up  for  the  purpose. 
But  I  made  a  mistake  after  all ;  I  had  no  sooner  fired  than  he  flew 
straight  away,  as  if  nothing  was  the  matter,  although  his  feathers 
flew  out  in  a  cloud.  No,  the  bullet  isn't  made  yet  that  will  kill 
that  fellow." 

"Anyhow,  Peter,  we  will  have  another  try  at  him  to-morrow," 
said  the  captain  with  a  somewhat  malicious  expression.  "  We 
know  where  he  roosts  at  any  rate." 

"  Well,  if  there  were  no  other  birds  to  be  found  in  the  woods, 
one  might  perhaps  take  the  trouble  to  run  after  him,"  answered 
Peter  in  a  somewhat  angry  tone.  "But,  dear  me,"  he  added 

ironically,  "  if  the  captain  will  go  after  him,  so ,  only  I  don't 

intend  to  waste  a  grain  of  powder  on  him.  I  can  only  say,"  he 
continued  with  an  air  of  simplicity,  "that  such  playing  no  one  has 
heard  before.  And  such  a  bird  !  Why,  it's  the  most  remarkable 
bird  you  ever  saw.  He  is  not  like  other  capercailzies  at  all ;  he  is 
at  least  half  as  big  again,  and  perhaps  more." 

"Yes,  you  are  right,  he  is  a  tough  old  one,  scarcely  worth 
powder  and  shot,"  said  the  captain  ;  "  his  flesh  must  be  as  tough 
and  bitter  as  the  fir-twig  he  roosts  on.  I  would,  however,  like  to 
see  some  one  put  a  bullet  through  him  to  get  an  end  to  all  these 
pranks  of  his  which  he  so  often  has  played  on  us.  I  have  been 
after  him  several  times,  without  being  able  to  get  within  shot  of 
him  during  the  play.  Twice,  however,  have  1  had  a  shot  at  him, 
but  at  such  a  long  distance,  that  there  was  but  little  chance  of  my 
hitting  him.  It  is  of  course  a  most  foolish  thing  twice  to  take  a 
long  shot  in  a  capercailzie  wood,  as  you  know,"  said  the  captain, 
appealing  to  me  ;  "  but  the  last  time  I  had  no  choice,  because 
I  heard  that  villainous  Andreas  stalking  the  bird  at  the  same  time. 
He  is  really,  as  Peter  says,  a  wonderful  bird,  this  old  capercailzie 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


75 


cock  ;  but,"  he  continued,  and  gave  me  a  wink,  which  clearly 
showed  his  intention  of  getting  some  more  stories  out  of  Peter, 
"  when  we  get  to  the  dairy  I  shall  tell  you  of  an  adventure  I  had 


with  a  hare — a  goblin-hare  it  must  have  been,  which  was  still  more 
remarkable  and  wonderful  than  our  capercailzie." 

We  came  soon  to  the  deserted  mountain-dairy  where  we  found 


76  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

the  boy  had  gone  on  before  while  we  went  up  in  the  hill  to  listen 
to  the  capercailzies.  He  had  orders  from  the  captain  to  air  the 
room  and  to  make  a  good  fire  on  the  hearth.  As  soon  as  we  had 
put  away  our  guns  and  game-bag  and  partaken  of  a  good  supper 
provided  out  of  the  captain's  bag,  he  commenced  the  story  he  had 
promised  us  about  the  goblin-hare,  assuming  at  the  same  time  a 
decorous  air  in  speech  and  manner. 

"  When  I  was  lieutenant,  I  was  one  summer  encamped  on  Thoten, 
where  my  regiment  had  to  do  their  yearly  drill.  I  had  brought 
my  hounds  with  me,  as  I  intended  to  have  some  shooting.  I  was 
standing  in  the  kitchen  of  my  quarters  one  afternoon,  getting 
ready  for  the  evening's  sport,  when  a  peasant  came  in. 

"  '  Are  there  any  hares  about  here  ? '  I  asked.  '  Well,  there  are 
some  left  to  be  sure/  answered  the  peasant  ;  '  on  the  Sukkestad- 
moor  there  is  an  old  jack-hare,  which  many  a  hound  and  sportsman 
have  been  after,  but  he  is  not  so  easily  killed,  it  appears.'  And 
the  worthy  peasant  shook  his  head  somewhat  mysteriously. 

" '  Not  easily  killed  ?  That's  all  nonsense.  I  suppose  there  isn't 
a  hound  worth  having  about  here  ? '  said  I,  and  stroked  my  dogs, 
which  were  pulling  at  the  couples  and  wanted  to  get  out.  '  If  my 
hounds  here  once  start  him  I  think  there  will  be  little  difficulty 
in  catching  him.' 

"'Ah,  maybe!  Quite  possible,'  said  the  peasant,  and  grinned 
rather  incredulously. 

"  I  started  straight  for  the  Sukkestad-moor  and  had  scarcely  let 
the  hounds  loose,  before  they  found  scent  and  were  soon  in  full  cry. 
But  there  seemed  to  be  little  satisfaction  got  out  of  this  run  ;  every 
moment  the  hare  squatted,  and  the  hounds  lost  the  scent  time  after 
time.  The  next  instant  the  hare  was  off  again  and  things  were 
looking  promising,  when  suddenly  the  hare  hid  himself  in  a  bush 
again.  I  ran  from  one  place  to  another,  and  as  it  was  not  difficult 
to  get  a  shot  at  him,  I  fired  several  times,  but  only  made  miss  after 
miss.  At  last  he  settled  in  front  of  a  clump  of  young  fir-trees 
about  forty  paces  distant  from  me.  I  fired,  and  went  quite  con- 
fidently to  pick  it  up ;  but  when  I  came  over  to  the  pines  there 
was  no  sign  of  any  hare  ;  I  could  see  nothing  but  an  old  stick  and 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


a  rag.  The  day  after  I  was  busy  cleaning  my  rifle  when  the 
peasant  came  up  to  rne, 

"'Well,  what  about  the  hare,  lieutenant?'  he  asked  with  a  sly 
wink. 

"  I  told  him  what  had  happened. 

" '  Many  have  been  after  him,  as  I  told  you,  but  you  must  know 
it's  not  an  easy  job  to  catch  him/  he  repeated  with  a  great  deal 
of  mystery.  '  I  see  you  are  cleaning  your  gun,  sir,  but  I  should 
say  that's  not  of  much  use.  It  won't  kill  Puss  any  better  for 
that.' 

"'But,  goodness  gracious,  what  can  that  hare  be  made  of?' 
I  asked,  '  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  powder  and  shot  will  not 
take  any  effect  on  him  ? ' 

"  '  I  think  it  is  as  you  say,'  he  answered.  '  I  may  as  well  tell 
you  that  the  hare  himself  is  possessed ;  the  one  which  you  saw 
yesterday  is  only  his  double;  he  himself  plays  no  pranks  like  that. 
But  I'll  give  you  a  bit  of  advice !  Take  a  blindworm — I'll  find 
you  one — and  ram  it  into  the  barrel  of  your  gun  and  then  fire  it, 
after  that  you  may  try  what  powder  and  shot  will  do. ' 

"  I  did  as  he  said.  He  got  me  a  live  blindworm,  which  we  forced 
into  the  barrel  of  the  gun ;  I  fired  it  against  the  barn  wall,  and 
strange  to  say,  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  wet  mark. 

"  Some  days  later  I  went  up  on  the  Sukkestad  moor.  It  was  very 
early  in  the  morning.  The  dogs  were  no  sooner  let  loose,  than  the 
hare  was  afoot.  This  time  there  was  no  stopping  or  casting,  but 
the  hounds  were  soon  in  full  cry,  and  after  half-an-hour's  run,  the 
hare  came  dancing  down  the  moor  towards  me.  I  put  up  my  gun 
and  fired  ;  he  dropped  down  dead  on  the  spot.  He  was  a  big  old 
rake,  full  of  marks  and  scars,  and  he  had  only  an  ear  and  a  half." 

"  I  have  also  heard  about  a  similar  hare,"  said  Peter,  who  had 
listened  to  the  captain's  story  with  great  attention.  "  He  used  to 
knock  about  here  in  Holleia,  and  they  said  he  was  nearly  black 
A  good  many  were  after  him  and  had  a  shot  at  him,  but  they  never 
had  any  luck,  until  this  rascally  Andreas  came  here.  He  shot  it, 
for  he  must  put  his  nose  in  everywhere,  you  know.  It  was  he  we 
saw  the  tracks  of  down  by  Rausand  hill.  He  is  a  scamp,  he  is 


78  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

and  it  isn't  difficult  to  find  his  tracks  and  signs  of  his  reckless 
shooting,  for  he  can  never  wait,  like  other  folks,  till  the  birds  have 
had  a  good  start  at  their  play." 

"I  daresay,"  said  the  captain,  and  twirled  his  moustaches,  -'it 
isn't  the  first  time  he  is  shooting  in  preserved  grounds.  But  tell 
me,  was  it  he  who  shot  that  goblin-hare  down  by  Christiania,  which 
you  told  me  about  once  ? " 

"  Oh,  that  hare !  No,  that  was  a  professional  shot  from  those 
parts  called  Brandte-Lars.  You  must  know  him,  surely,  since  you 
are  from  Christiania  ? "  said  Peter,  addressing  himself  to  me. 

No,  I  did  not  know  him. 

*'  What !  you  don't  know  him  ?  Why,  he  lives  in  a  small  cottage 
under  the  hill  just  below  Grcfsen.  I  met  him  once  in  Halland, 
when  he  was  out  shooting  with  some  swells  from  town.  He  is  a 
queer  fellow,  but  a  good  shot.  He  never  misses  his  hare,  and 
shoots  flying  just  like  the  captain  here.  But  about  that  hare  the 
captain  spoke  of.  He  told  me  all  about  that  and  much  more." 

" '  I  was  going  out  one  day  for  old  Simonsen  in  the  Market- 
place/ he  said,  '  to  try  and  get  him  some  game.  We  had  three 
hounds  ;  one  of  them  called  Rap,  over  which  the  evil  spirits  had 
no  power,  because  he  was  red,  you  must  know  ;  the  other  two  were 
pretty  decent  hounds.  Well,  it  was  one  morning  early  in  the 
spring,'  said  Lars,  '  that  I  started  for  Linderudsceter,  where  I 
slipped  Rap,  and  he  was  soon  in  full  cry  and  made  the  hillside 
ring.  I  posted  myself  near  a  place  where  they  had  been  burning 
charcoal,  and  very  soon  the  hare  came  running  past,  close  to  where 
I  was  standing.  I  missed,  and  away  they  went  again  in  full  cry 
after  the  hare.  Before  long  he  came  past  the  same  place  again  ; 
he  was  quite  black  along  the  back — I  missed  again. 

" '  But  how  is  all  this  ? "  said  I  to  myself.  '  Won't  the  other  dogs 
acknowledge  the  scent  too  ? '  for  it  was  only  Rap  who  was  after  the 
hare.  '  No,  this  can't  be  a  real  hare  ;  but  I  must  have  another 
look  at  him.  Well,  he  came  past  for  the  third  time,  and  I  missed 
him  again,  sure  enough.  Both  the  dogs  were  close  by  me,  but  they 
didn't  take  the  slightest  notice  of  him.  But  then  I  took  a  charm 
and  put  in  the  gun/  he  said. 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.  79 


"  How  !  "  I  asked. 

"You  must  tell  him  that,  Peter,"  said  the  captain. 

"  Well,  Lars  wouldn't  tell  me  at  first,"  said  Peter,  "  but  after  I 
had  given  him  a  good  dram  and  a  roll  of  tobacco,  he  told  me  all 
about  it." 

" '  You  take  the  bark  of  the  mountain  ash  and  put  it  round  the 
break-off,'  said  Lars,  '  and  then  you  scrape  three  bits  of  a  silver  coin 
which  has  come  down  in  the  family — it  must  be  one  of  the  real  good 
old  coins,  one  that  has  been  out  in  the  wars  ;  and  then  you  scrape 
three  parings  of  the  nail  of  your  little  finger  in  your  left  hand,  and 
then  three  barleycorns,  if  you  have  not  got  these  handy,  take  three 
breadcrumbs  and  put  them  all  above  the  shot,  and  then  you  might 
shoot  the  very  devil  with  it/  he  said.  '  That's  what  I  did  the  time 
I  was  telling  you  about,  and  when  the  hare  came  past  the  fourth 
time,  he  fell  stone  dead  the  moment  I  fired,'  he  said.  '  He  was  a 
dry  little  beast,  and  he  was  so  old  that  he  was  nearly  black  all 
over.  Well,  I  took  him  and  hung  him  up  by  his  hind  legs  to  a 
gnarled  birch  to  clean  him,  but  would  you  believe  me,  he  kept  on 
bleeding  as  if  he  were  a  young  cow,  and  the  dogs  were  licking  up 
the  blood  as  it  ran  down  the  hill.  I  had  to  take  him  with  me  at  last, 
but  somehow  I  could  not  find  my  way,  and  the  blood  kept  on  running 
off  the  hare  all  the  time.  I  came  back  twice  to  that  gnarled  birch- 
tree,  and  I  thought  it  was  rather  odd,  as  I  ought  to  know  my  way 
thereabouts  as  well  as  in  my  own  parlour.  But  of  course  if  you 
first  make  a  wrong  start,  you  go  wrong  altogether.  Well,  thought 
I,  I  had  better  let  the  dogs  find  the  way,  which  I  did,  but  when  I 
came  past  some  rocks  down  there,  I  saw  an  old  witch  right  in  front 
of  some  small  birchwood  with  a  cloth  on  her  head,  a  leather  jacket, 
and  black  skirt ;  she  was  leaning  on  a  crutch-handled  stick  and 
looked  like  a  woman  from  the  country. 

1 '  I  say,  Lars,'  said  she.  '  you  have  got  many  a  hare  in  the  moors 
here  and  I  have  wished  you  well,  so  you  might  as  well  have  left 
alone  that  hare  of  mine.  If  you  had  not  had  that  red  dog  of  yours, 
you  wouldn't  have  got  it  either.' 

' '  I  didn't  say  a  word,'  said  Lars,  '  but  cut  away  over  Moerre  bog 
up  to  Bamsebraaten,  where  I  let  the  dogs  loose.  They  were  soon 


8o 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


in  full  cry,  Rap  being  the  first,  and  as  I  stood  and  listened  whether 
the  other  two  were  going  to  join  in,  I  heard  them  all  three  sure 
enough,  and  then  I  knew  it  must  be  a  real  hare  ;  but  when  I  heard 


them  bearing  off  for  the  Linderudsoeter  again,  I  felt  rather  down  in 
the  mouth.  They  had  an  awful  long  run,  but  when  they  came 
round  again,  the  hare  came  galloping  like  a  young  colt  up  to  me  ; 
he  was  nearly  as  big  as  a  small  goat.  I  shot  it,  and  then  I  went 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.  81 

southwards  towards  Alun  lake.  There  the  dogs  got  a  new  scent, 
and  off  they  went  in  full  cry  in  the  direction  of  Linderudsceter 
again — it  appeared  as  if  they  must  chase  the  hare  round  there. 
At  last  they  came  back  again,  and  I  shot  that  hare  also,  and  then  I 
had  three  in  all.  That'll  do  for  to-day,  my  dear  Lars,  thought  I, 
and  so  I  went  home  and  hung  the  hares  up  in  Simonsen's  cellar. 
But  that  little  black  thing  bled  for  three  days  after,  and  filled 
the  cellar  nearly  half  full  of  blood." 

"  You  spoke  just  now  about  a  goblin  hare,  who  was  seen  here  in 
Holleia  ;  but  are  there  not  also  some  legends  about  all  the  riches, 
gold  and  silver,  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  mountains  here  ?  It 
wouldn't  be  a  bad  thing  to  have  some  of  it.  Peter  ? "  said  the 
captain,  who  was  trying  to  get  a  story  out  of  him  again. 

"  Oh,  what  would  the  captain  want  with  that  ? "  said  Peter,  and 
shook  his  head.  "  You  have  enough,  I  should  say,  sir,  and  perhaps 
more  than  enough.  It  might  be  something  for  a  poor  fellow ;  but 
believe  me,  it  isn't  so  easy  to  get  hold  of,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  It  seems  very  strange  to  me  however  that  you  haven't  tried 
to  get  some  of  it,"  continued  the  captain. 

"  Ah,  but  how  should  that  have  happened  ?  "  asked  Peter.  "  To 
lie  about  and  dig  in  the  hills,  as  old  Joe  Haugen  did  all  over 
Holleia,  is  not  a  thing  I  should  care  for." 

"  But  there  are  other  ways  to  find  such  riches,"  said  the  captain 
mysteriously.  "  What  do  you  say  to  making  friends  with  the 
fairies  in  the  mountains  ?  You  have,  by  rny  faith,  not  been  such 
an  ill-looking  lad  in  your  youth,  Peter !  You  could  have  made 
your  fortune,  sure  enough." 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha ! "  laughed  Peter  in  a  subdued  tone,  apparently 
pleased  with  the  captain's  allusion  to  his  good  looks.  "  I 
have  never  believed  in  such  beings,  for  I  have  never  seen  a  troll 
or  a  huldre." 

"  But  there  lived  once  a  fairy  over  in  Holleia,"  said  the  captain. 

"  Oh,  that's  an  old  fairy  tale.  I  have  heard  people  talk  about 
it,  to  be  sure,  but  I  don't  believe  anything  of  it,"  answered  Peter. 

"  Yes,  but  you  must  know  something  about  it  for  all  that,  since 
you  have  been  knocking  about  on  the  moors  here  so  long.  You 

G 


82  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


must  tell  us  what  you  know.  My  friend  here  is  mad  after  such 
stories." 

"  Ah,  indeed  !  Well,  I  don't  mind ;  but  for  my  part  I  don't 
believe  a  word  of  them,"  Peter  assured  us,  and  commenced  : 

"  South  of  Holleia,  there  are  two  mountains— they  call  them 
the  '  Big-peak '  and  the  '  Little-peak  ' — there  where  you  are  sitting 
you  can  still  see  a  little  of  the  same  range  of  mountains!  There 
are  a  great  many  old  workings  over  there,  and  there  is  any 
amount  of  gold  and  silver  in  those  mountains,  in  fact,  they  say 
there's  no  end  to  the  riches  there.  But  it  is  not  an  easy  job  to 
get  at  them,  for  an  old  witch  lives  in  those  peaks.  She  owns  it  all, 
and  she  broods  on  it  like  a  dragon — that's  what  they  say,  anyhow. 
She  is  much  richer  than  the  king  of  Kongsberg,  for  once,  when 
the  miners  had  dug  out  such  a  fearful  lot  of  silver  ore,  the  king 
went  into  the  mine  and  said  to  the  people : 

'"Well,  I  cannot  stand  this  much  longer!  If  you  go  on  at 
this  rate  I  shall  be  a  poor  man.  You  will  ruin  me  entirely.  Why 
don't  you  go  over  to  my  sister,  Guri,  in  the  Holleia-peaks  ?  She 
is  ten  times  richer  than  I.'  " 

"  Guri  must  be  a  sister  to  the  Egeberg  king,  then  ? "  I  remarked. 

"The  Egeberg  king!  Who's  he?"  asked  Peter.  "He  is  from 
Christiania,  perhaps  ? " 

I  told  him  the  legend  of  the  Egeberg  king,  and  how  he  in  1814 
had  to  move  to  his  brother  in  Kongsberg,  as  he  could  not  stand 
all  the  noise  and  mining  going  on  in  his  mountain. 

"Ah  well,  he  must  be  a  brother  to  the  witch  I  am  speaking 
about,"  added  Peter  in  good  faith.  "  I  also  have  heard  tell  of  one 
who  had  to  move  because  he  couldn't  stand  the  noise.  But  he 
lived  in  these  parts.  Whether  he  was  the  husband  of  this  Guri, 
or  somebody  else,  I  don't  know,  but  he  was  one  of  those  who 
lived  in  the  mountain  here  and  had  a  lot  of  riches.  But  this  is 
how  it  happened  !  Just  about  the  time  they  were  beginning  to 
mine  in  the  Skaugs  moors,  there  lived  a  woman  called  Ronnau 
Skaugen,  over  by  the  brook  between  Sognedale  and  Tyristrand. 
One  morning  early,  when  she  was  standing  by  the  brook  rinsing 
some  clothes,  she  saw  such  a  lot  of  silver  things  in  the  water — 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


plates,  dishes,   spoons,  ladles,  and  all  sorts  of  fine  things — lying 
at  the  bottom  of  the  brook,  glittering  and  shining  in  the  sunshine. 


When  she  saw  all  these  riches,  she  almost  lost  her  senses ;  she  ran 
straight  home  for  a  tub  to  take  them  away  in.     But  when  she  came 

G  2 


84  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

back  they  were  all  gone,  every  one  of  them.  There  wasn't  as  much 
as  a  silver  sixpence  left ;  there  was  only  the  clear  water  which 
glistened  in  the  sun  as  it  ran  over  the  pebbles.  Shortly  afterwards 
they  began  working  the  copper  mines  in  the  same  neighbourhood, 
and  there  was  such  a  noise,  firing  and  blasting,  early  and  late,  that 
there  was  no  peace  at  any  time.  Late  one  evening  when  Ronnau 
had  been  down  to  the  brook,  she  met  a  big  man  on  a  large  black 
horse.  He  had  a  whole  row  of  carts  after  him  loaded  with  all  sorts 
of  household  effects  and  furniture,  and  he  had  also  some  cows  and 
sheep  with  him. 

"  '  Good  evening,  Ronnau,'  he  said  ;     I  am  moving  now.' 
"  '  So  I  see,'  she  answered  ;  '  but  why  are  you  leaving  ? ' 
" '  Oh,  they  are  making  such  a  noise  in  the  mines  here  now,  that 
I  feel  as  if  my  poor  head  were  going  to  pieces.    I  can't  stand  it  any 
longer,  so  I  am  moving  to  my  brother  Tinn  in  Thelemarken.     But 
I  say,  Ronnau/  he  asked  suddenly, '  why  did  you  want  all  my  silver 
things  that  time  you  saw  them  in  the  brook  ?     If  you  had  been 
satisfied  with  what  you  could  have  carried  in  your  apron,  you  should 
have  had  that.' 

"  Since  that  time,"  added  Peter,  "  I  have  not  heard  of  anybody 
who  has  seen  anything  of  this  kind  in  our  neighbourhood,  either 
because  they  have  moved  away  from  here  or  because  they  keep 
themselves  at  home.  Such  witchcraft  has  no  power  now  to  show 
itself,  because  the  people  don't  believe  in  it  any  more." 

"Yes,  there  is  more  truth  in  that  than  you  think,  my  dear 
friend,"  said  the  captain  ;  "  people  who  know  more  than  both  you 
and  I,  say  the  same.  But  for  all  that,  you  may  still  run  the  risk 
of  coming  across  some  of  them." 

At  the  repeated  requests  of  the  captain,  Peter  continued  to 
divert  us  during  the  night  with  legends,  tales,  and  stories  about  his 
sporting  adventures.  Now  and  then  the  captain  would  treat  us 
to  some  of  his  own  experiences  on  his  hunting  expeditions,  which 
generally  contained  some  sarcastic  reference  to  one  or  another  of 
the  bears  which  Peter  had  missed,  at  which  Peter  always  assumed 
a  curious  grinning  smile  and  scratched  his  ear.  Sometimes  he 
would  give  me  a  sly  wink  with  one  of  his  eyes,  which  seemed  to 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.  85 

say,  "  That  was  one  for  you,  Peter  Sandaker,  put  that  in  your  pipe 
and  smoke  it !  " 

At  midnight  we  lay  down  on  a  couple  of  benches  in  front  of 
the  fire  and  refreshed  ourselves  with  a  short  snooze.  When  we 
awoke,  Peter  said  it  was  time  to  make  a  start  for  the  pairing- 
ground  of  the  capercailzies.  It  was  a  cold,  sharp  morning  ; 
there  was  a  thin  crust  on  the  snow,  so  that  it  crackled  beneath 
our  tread.  The  sky  was,  however,  clear  and  blue,  and  a  few  white 
clouds  which  were  quietly  drifting  towards  us  from  the  south, 
predicted  an  early  end  to  the  chilly  night  air.  The  moon  stood 
low  on  the  horizon,  and  instead  of  lighting  us  on  our  nocturnal 
expedition,  it  only  threw  a  faint  light  on  the  distant  hills  and 
the  tops  of  the  trees,  while  it  created  that  mysterious  twilight 
between  the  tall  fir  trees  which  lengthens  the  shadows  intermin- 
ably, and  calls  forth  ghostly  figures  between  the  trunks  of  the 
trees,  and  makes  the  forest  so  mysterious,  so  deep  and  awe- 
inspiring. 

The  robin  alone  by  his  soft  morning  song  broke  the  silence  and 
the  solitude  which  reigned  in  the  forest. 

"  There's  the  bird  singing  who  is  the  first  to  wake  up  in  the 
morning,"  said  Peter.  "  It  won't  be  long  now,  before  the  whole 
forest  is  alive  and  stirring  ;  we  had  better  hurry  on  a  bit." 

"  There's  plenty  of  time,  my  dear  Peter,"  said  the  captain  ; 
"the  capercailzie  plays  best  on  the  hill  between  here  and  the 
Londals  bog,  and  I  don't  think  we  shall  have  much  of  the  play 
this  morning ;  it  is  too  cold." 

"  We  shall  have  it  much  warmer  towards  the  morning,"  answered 
Peter  rather  positively  ;  "  there  is  a  southerly  draught  in  the  air, 
and  I  think  we  shall  have  some  fine  play,  as  the  nights  have  lately 
been  so  chilly.  When  the  sun  rises  we  shall  have  some  splendid 
play.  Only  hear  the  woodcock,  how  he  is  roading  ;  he  expects  fine 
weather.  There  is  the  snipe  drumming  also.  We  shall  have  it 
fine  !"  he  added,  with  an  air  of  conviction. 

We  heard  the  peculiar  note  of  the  woodcock,  which  resembles 
the  repeated  croaking  of  the  frog,  followed  by  a  sharp  hissing  sound, 
somewhat  like  the  noisy  chirping  of  the  wagtail  ;  by  the  faint  light 


86  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

of  the  setting  moon  we  saw  one  shadow  after  the  other  of  these 
birds  passing  over  the  tops  of  the  trees.  We  heard  the  unpleasant 
braying  of  the  snipe,  now  near  to  us,  now  far  off,  now  high  up 
in  the  air,  now  right  over  our  heads,  and  suddenly  it  seemed  close 
to  our  ears,  now  on  all  sides,  still  without  our  being  able  to  catch 
sight  of  the  bird.  But  the  shrill  wild  cry  of  the  heron  overpowered 
the  cries  of  all  the  other  birds,  whom  it  seemed  to  terrify  ;  they  were 
silent  the  moment  they  heard  it,  and  a  silence  followed  which  made 
the  interruption  doubly  unpleasant.  At  this  moment  the  woodlark 
commenced  his  morning  song  with  his  clear  ringing  notes,  which  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night  reminded  us  of  the  bright  approaching 
dawn,  and  formed  a  cheerful  contrast  to  the  ghostly  flight  and  un- 
pleasant notes  of  the  nocturnal  birds. 

"  There  goes  the  capercailzie  bell,  as  the  Swedes  call  this  merry 
little  bird,"  said  the  captain.  "  As  soon  as  he  starts  singing,  the 
capercailzie  commences  its  morning  hymn  in  its  roosting-place. 
Let  us  remain  here  a  while  ;  we  are  not  far  away  from  the  birds 
that  came  to  roost  so  late  last  night.  By  going  nearer  we 
might  easily  frighten  them  away." 

After  having  listened  for  a  few  minutes,  we  heard  a  capercailzie 
playing  a  couple  of  hundred  paces  off. 

"  I  almost  think  it  is  the  fellow  that  came  last  and  snapped  his 
beak,"  said  Peter ;  "  I  really  wonder  if  he  won't  get  a  dressing. 
The  old  one  hasn't  generally  a  short  memory." 

The  captain  gave  me  the  choice  of  going  in  the  direction  where 
we  heard  the  bird  playing,  or  of  going  more  to  the  north  where  he 
expected  the  younger  birds  were  roosting.  I  chose  the  first,  and 
the  captain  went  in  a  northerly  direction.  Peter  and  I  quietly 
approached  the  capercailzie,  and  carefully  avoided  making  any 
noise  by  treading  on  the  snow  or  the  dry  crackling  branches. 
Every  time  we  heard  the  bird  commence  the  first  part  of  his  love- 
song  we  stopped  for  a  moment,  but  as  soon  as  he  had  done  the 
gobble  and  began  snapping  his  beak  we  advanced  rapidly  two  or 
three  paces  each  time.  When  he  went  on  with  the  first  strain 
again,  and  while  he  did  the  gobble,  we  remained  of  course  motion- 
less. When  we  in  this  manner  had  arrived  within  a  distance  of 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


forty  or  fifty  paces  from  the  tree  where  he  was  sitting,  we  heard 
the  flight  of  another  bird,  which  settled  down  in  the  tree  with  a 
great  noise.  The  sound  of  clashing  beaks  and  wings  soon  told  us 


that  our  old  friend  had  paid  the  visit  which  Peter  had  predicted, 
to  the  stranger,  his  rival,  on  the  morning  roost.  During  the  fight, 
we  ran  forward  a  few  paces,  but  a  heavy,  rushing  flight  betokened 
an  easy  victory,  and  the  stranger  flew  away.  All  was-  now  quiet 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 


for  a  time,  but  a  hen  was  soon  heard  cackling,  and  immediately 
the  old  capercailzie  cock  commenced  playing  ;  he  went  through 
the  first  part  and  did  his  gobble,  but  as  soon  as  we  moved  a  foot 
to  get  nearer,  he  flew  to  another  tree,  where  he  commenced  his 
deceitful  play  anew. 

"  I  thought  as  much,"  said  Peter  with  some  vexation.  "  Now  he 
is  at  it  again  !  It's  no  use  whatever  to  stalk  him  ;  one  might  as 
well  try  to  stalk  the  clouds.  No,  let  us  go  more  to  the  north ; 
there  are  more  birds  thereabouts,  and  I  dare  say  there  is  one 
amongst  them  anyhow,  who  dares  open  his  beak,  although  they 
are  all  afraid  of  that  beast  there  !  I  wish  Old  Nick  had  him." 

"  Do  you  know  where  the  old  fellow  plays  at  sunrise  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,  of  course  I  do,"  answered  Peter ;  "  he  plays  in  a  fir  tree  on 
a  small  knoll,  just  below  here  in  the  bog;  but  it  is  very  difficult 
to  get  a  shot  at  him,  because  the  tree  is  so  very  high." 

"  We  will  go  there,"  said  I  ;  "  but  since  you  think  it  advisable, 
we  will  first  go  a  little  to  the  north." 

We  walked  for  some  distance  in  this  direction,  but  we  did  not 
hear  a  single  bird  play.  Peter  wondered  very  much  what  could 
have  become  of  the  birds,  and  came  finally  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  fight  had  frightened  them  away,  or  given  them  such  a  scare 
that  they  dared  not  open  their  mouths. 

Just  as  the  day  was  breaking  we  heard  a  report  of  a  gun  north 
of  Sandtjaern  hill,  where  Peter  told  me  the  captain  and  he  used 
to  have  bear-bait  set.  This  place  was  not  far  away  from  his 
dairy  on  the  mountains  or  from  his  home  in  Sognedale.  Soon 
afterwards  we  heard  another  report,  which,  like  its  predecessor, 
Peter  declared,  came  from  the  captain's  gun.  While  we  were 
crossing  the  bog,  on  our  way  to  the  fir  tree  Peter  had  spoken  of, 
and  whither  he  apparently  went  with  little  inclination,  he  broke 
out  afresh  in  lamentations  over  the  bad  sport  we  had  had,  and 
kept  on  talking  to  himself  in  disjointed  sentences,  such  as  :  "  Only 
a  waste  of  powder, — no,  no,  the  captain  is  the  right  sort  of  man, 
he  is, — he  has  got  one,  perhaps  two, — that  wasn't  Ander's  shot  at 
all, — that  good-for-nothing  gun  of  his, — no,  there  is  something 
like  a  report  in  the  captain's." 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.  89 


"Be  comforted,  Peter,"  said  I,  "perhaps  we  shall  get  the  cock 
of  the  walk  here  after  all." 

"  You  must  know  some  queer  trick  or  another  then,"  answered 
Peter ;  "  he  is  a  sly,  deep  one,  and  he  is  shot-proof  too,  I  can  tell 
you." 

When  we  arrived  at  the  knoll,  after  having  crossed  the  frozen 
bog,  I  took — on  account  of  the  considerable  distance  at  which  the 
bird  would  have  to  be  shot  at,  if  he,  as  we  supposed,  would  settle 
in  the  top  of  the  fir  tree — the  shot  out  of  my  gun,  and  loaded  again 
with  a  wire  cartridge. 

Peter  looked  at  this  operation,  shook  his  head,  and  expressed 
in  the  following  words  his  want  of  confidence  in  it  : — 

"  And  you  think  that  will  help  ? " 

"  We  shall  see,"  I  answered  just  as  curtly. 

The  knoll  on  which  we  found  ourselves  appeared  like  a  small 
island  in  the  big  bog.  On  its  summit  towered  aloft  the  fir  tree 
which  has  often  been  referred  to,  like  a  mighty  mast,  full  of  wood- 
peckers' holes.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  knoll  was  another  fir 
tree,  which  must  have  been  just  as  majestic  at  one  time,  but  was 
now  stooping  forward  over  the  bog ;  the  storms  had  broken  its 
top,  and  only  a  few  of  the  lower,  almost  naked,  branches  were  left, 
which,  like  some  brawny  giant's  arms,  stretched  themselves  out 
against  the  clear  morning  sky.  The  sun  was  rising ;  it  gilt  the 
hill  tops  and  gradually  threw  its  lustre  over  the  dark  pine  torests 
on  the  mountain  slopes.  But  the  Skjcersjo  bog,  which  in  a 
southerly  direction  extended  so  far  that  the  forest  at  its  far  end 
could  scarcely  be  distinguished  in  the  blue  hazy  mist,  was 
still  in  the  deepest  shade.  The  woodcock,  the  snipe,  and  other 
nocturnal  birds  were  all  gone  to  rest ;  but  the  merry  songsters  of 
the  wood  now  filled  the  air  with  their  jubilee;  the  nutcracker 
began  his  monotonous  clattering,  the  chaffinches  and  the  wrens 
sang  high  in  the  sky,  the  blackcock  scolded  and  blustered 
loudly,  the  thrush  sang  his  mocking  songs  and  libellous  ditties 
about  everybody,  but  became  occasionally  a  little  sentimental 
and  warbled  gently  and  bashfully  some  tender  stanzas.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  bog  a  capercailzie  was  playing  in  the  top  of  a 


90  A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES. 

fir  tree  ;  the  hens  were  making  themselves  agreeable,  and  cackled 
and  snuffled  their  hoarse  nasal  sounds,  which  to  the  songbirds 
would  be  as  unattractive  as  an  old  lady's  whisperings  of  girlish 
love  and  soft  words  would  be  to  us. 

In  the  meantime  we  were  hidden  in  a  close  juniper  thicket  on 
the  little  knoll,  and  expected  the  capercailzie  cock  every  moment ; 
but  our  old  friend  tarried  a  long  time  in  his  harem.  At  last,  just 
as  the  sun  was  gilding  the  top  of  the  fir  tree,  he  came  flying  with  a 
heavy  rushing  sound,  and  settled,  not  in  the  tall  fir  tree  above  us, 
but  in  the  crestless  fir,  which  was  leaning  over  the  bog.  It  was  truly 
a  splendid  bird — a  noble  animal — as  it  sat  there  against  the  sky  on 
the  naked  branch,  with  its  shining,  bright  green  breast  glittering  in 
the  sunlight  A  hen  now  came  flying  and  settled  in  the  tree  above 
our  heads.  At  this  moment  the  cock  began  to  play  ;  he  stuck  out 
his  beard,  trailed  nis  wings  down  by  his  legs,  and  made,  with  great 
solemnity  and  wavelike  motions  of  his  neck,  a  few  steps  forward  on 
the  branch,  while  he  stuck  up  his  tail  and  spread  it  out  like  a  big 
wheel.  I  was  waiting  with  my  finger  on  the  trigger  for  the  de- 
cisive moment  when  he  would  spread  out  his  wings  for  flight,  and 
thereby  give  me  a  much  larger  target,  at  which  I  at  this  long  dis- 
tance could  make  a  surer  shot.  But  while  the  hen  continued  her 
cackle  he  finished  his  first  play,  and  had  commenced  the  gobble  of 
his  second,  when  a  twig  cracked  beneath  my  feet.  The  hen  uttered 
a  sharp  warning  cry,  but  our  old  friend  was  in  such  an  ecstasy,  that 
he  took  no  notice  of  her  well-meant  warning,  and  was  finishing  his 
love-song,  when  his  faithful  mistress  flew  straight  at  him,  apparently 
with  the  intention  of  pushing  him  off  the  branch.  This  recalled 
him  to  his  senses,  and  he  spread  his  wings  out  to  take  flight  ;  but 
my  gun  was  up,  and  the  mighty  bird  fell  head  foremost  down  on 
the  bog.  It  was  an  easy  death ;  he  only  flapped  his  wings  once 
or  twice. 

Peter  ran  and  seized  the  bird.  A  look  of  surprise  lighted  up 
his  face,  but  this  soon  gave  way  to  a  pleased  and  admiring  grin. 
He  shook  his  head  and  said : 

"  I  shouldn't  have  believed  it,  even  if  the  captain  had  told  me 
himself,  for  this  is  the  right  bird  ;  I  know  him  by  his  bill — such  a 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  CAPERCAILZIES.  93 

yellow,  crooked,  and  thick  beak  has  no  other  capercailzie  hereabout. 
Look  how  green  he  is  on  the  breast,  and  how  his  feathers  shine ! 
And  such  a  big  heavy  one!"  exclaimed  Peter, while  he,  with  almost 
childish  joy,  was  weighing  the  bird  in  his  hand.  "  I  don't  think  I 
am  telling  a  lie  when  I  say  he  weighs  fifteen  pounds.  That  was 
a  shot  1  But  the  captain  will  be  glad  !  Ho,  ho,  here  we  are !  "  he 
cried  till  it  was  re-echoed  from  all  the  hills  around.  The  captain 
soon  made  his  appearance,  followed  by  the  boy  and  the  hounds. 
The  captain  and  the  boy  carried  each  a  capercailzie. 

Peter  lifted  our  prize  triumphantly  aloft  and  shouted,  while  they 
yet  were  at  some  distance — 

"  It  is  the  old  rascal,  captain  !  " 

"  What  do  you  say  ? "  cried  the  captain,  and  came  running 
towards  us.  "  Is  it  really  the  old  one  ?  Now,  that  is  a  decent 
day's  work,  which  deserves  a  glass.  Long  live  all  republics  of 
birds !  Perish  all  tyrants ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  took  the  bottle 
and  silver  goblet  out  of  his  bag  and  drank  to  us. 

"  Was  it  not  as  I  said,  the  captain  would  be  pleased  ?"  said  Peter 
with  a  grin,  as  he  winked  with  his  eyes  and  took  a  good  sup  of  the 
goblet  which  was  handed  to  him.  "  There  will  be  different  sport 
about  here  now,  when  we  have  got  rid  of  this  devil  of  a  bird." 

After  having  exchanged  accounts  about  our  sport,  the  hounds 
were  let  loose.  They  soon  found  scent,  and  away  they  went  in 
full  cry.  The  echo  repeated  their  baying  over  and  over  again 
between  the  hills,  and  our  hearts  beat  with  rapture  at  this  promising 
sound  of  fine  sport  in  the  early  sunny  morning. 


THE    GREEDY    YOUNGSTER. 


ONCE   upon   a   time   there   were    five 
women  who  were  in  a  field  reaping  corn. 
None  of  them  had  any  children,  but  they 
were  all  wishing  for  a  child.    All  at  once 
they  found  a  big  goose  egg,  almost  as 
big  as  a  man's  head. 
"  I  saw  it  first,"  said  one.     "  I  saw  it  just  as  soon   as  you  did," 
shouted  another.     "  But  I'll  have  it,"  screamed  the  third,  "  I  saw 
it  first  of  all." 


THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 


95 


Thus  they  kept  on  quarrelling  and  fighting  about  the  egg,  and 
they  were  very  near  tearing  each  other's  hair.  But  at  last  they 
agreed  that  it  should  belong  to  them  all,  and  that  they  should  sit 
on  it  as  the  geese  do  and  hatch  a  gosling.  The  first  woman  sat 
on  it  for  eight  days,  taking  it  very  comfortably  and  doing  nothing 
at  all,  while  the  others  had  to  work  hard  both  for  their  own  and 
her  living.  One  of  the  women  began  to  make  some  insinuations 
to  her  about  this. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  you  didn't  come  out  of  the  egg  either  before 
you  could  chirp,"  said  the  woman  who  was  on  the  egg.     "  But  I 
think  there  is  something  in  this  egg,  for  I  fancy  I  can  hear  some  one 
inside    grumbling    every    other 
moment :    '  Herring   and    soup  ! 
Porridge  and  milk  ! '      You  can 
come  and  sit  for  eight  days  now, 
and  then  we  will  sit  and  work 
in  turn,  all  of  us." 

So  when  the  fifth  in  turn  had 
sat  for  eight  days,  she  heard 
plainly  some  one  inside  the  egg 
screeching  for  "  Herring  and 
soup!  Porridge  and  milk!"  And 
so  she  made  a  hole  in  it ;  but 
instead  of  a  gosling  out  came  a 

baby,  but  it  was  awfully  ugly,  and  had  a  big  head  and  a  tiny  little 
body.  The  first  thing  it  screamed  out  for,  as  soon  as  it  put  its 
head  outside  the  egg,  was  "  Herring  and  soup !  Porridge  and  milk!" 
And  so  they  called  it  "  the  greedy  youngster." 

Ugly  as  he  was,  they  were  fond  of  him  at  first ;  but  before  long 
he  became  so  greedy  that  he  ate  up  all  the  meat  they  had.  When 
they  boiled  a  dish  of  soup  or  a  pot  of  porridge  which  they  thought 
would  be  sufficient  for  all  six,  he  finished  it  all  by  himself.  So 
they  would  not  have  him  any  longer. 

"  I  have  not  had  a  decent  meal  since  this  changeling  crept  out 
of  the  eggshell,"  said  one  of  them,  and  when  the  youngster  heard 
that  they  were  all  of  the  same  opinion,  he  said  he  was  quite  willing 


96  THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 

to  go  his  way ;  "  if  they  did  not  want  him,  he  was  sure  he  did  not 
want  them,"  and  with  that  he  left  the  place. 

After  a  long  time  he  came  to  a  farm  where  the  fields  were 
full  of  stones,  and  he  went  in  and  asked  for  a  situation.  They 
wanted  a  labourer  on  the  farm,  and  the  farmer  put  him  to  pick 
up  stones  from  the  field.  Yes,  the  youngster  went  to  work  and 
picked  up  the  stones,  some  of  which  were  so  big  that  they  would 
make  many  cart-loads ;  but  whether  they  were  big  or  small,  he 
put  them  all  into  his  pocket.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to  finish 
that  job,  so  he  wanted  to  know  what  he  should  do  next. 

"  You  will  have  to  get  all  the  stones  out  of  the  field,"  said 
the  farmer.  "  I  suppose  you  can't  be  ready  before  you  have 
commenced  ?" 

But  the  youngster  emptied  his  pockets  and  threw  all  the  stones  in 
a  heap.  Then  the  farmer  saw  that  he  had  finished  the  work,  and 
he  thought  he  ought  to  look  well  after  one  who  was  so  strong.  He 
must  come  in  and  get  something  to  eat,  he  said.  The  youngster 
thought  so  too,  and  he  alone  ate  what  was  prepared  both  for  master 
and  servants,  and  still  he  was  only  half  satisfied. 

"  He  is  the  right  sort  of  man  for  a  labourer,  but  he  is  a  terrible 
eater,  to  be  sure,"  thought  the  farmer.  "  A  man  like  him  would 
eat  a  poor  farmer  out  of  house  and  home  before  anybody  knew  a 
word  about  it,"  he  said.  He  had  no  more  work  for  him  ;  it  was 
best  for  him  to  go  to  the  king's  palace. 

The  youngster  set  out  for  the  palace,  where  he  got  a  place  at 
once.  There  was  plenty  of  food  and  plenty  of  work.  He  was  to  be 
errand  boy,  and  to  help  the  girls  to  carry  wood  and  water  and  do 
other  odd  jobs.  So  he  asked  what  he  was  to  do  first. 

"  You  had  better  chop  some  wood  in  the  meantime,"  they  said. 
Yes,  he  commenced  to  chop  and  cut  wood  till  the  splinters  flew 
about  him.  It  was  not  long  before  he  had  chopped  up  everything 
in  the  place,  both  fire-wood  and  t'mber,  both  rafters  and  beams, 
and  when  he  was  ready  with  it,  he  came  in  and  asked  what  he 
was  to  do  now. 

"  You  can  finish  chopping  the  wood,"  they  said. 

"  There  is  no  more  to  chop,"  he  answered. 


THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER.  97 

That  could  not  be  possible,  thought  the  overlooker,  and  had  a 
look  into  the  wood-shed.  But  yes,  the  youngster  had  chopped  up 
everything  ;  he  had  even  cut  up  the  timber  and  planks  in  the 
place.  This  was  vexatious,  the  overlooker  said ;  and  then  he  told 
the  youngster  that  he  should  not  taste  food  until  he  had  gone  into 
the  forest  and  cut  just  as  much  timber  as  he  had  chopped  up  for 
firewood. 

The  youngster  went  to  the  smithy  and  got  the  smith  to  help  him 
to  make  an  axe  of  five  hundredweight  of  iron,  and  then  he  set  out 
for  the  forest  and  began  to  make  a  regular  clearance,  not  only  of 
the  pine  and  the  lofty  fir  trees,  but  of  everything  else  which  was  to 
be  found  in  the  king's  forests,  and  in  the  neighbours'  as  well.  He 
did  not  stop  to  cut  the  branches  or  the  tops  off,  but  he  left  them 
lying  there  as  if  a  hurricane  had  blown  them  down.  He  put  a 
proper  load  on  the  sledge  and  put  all  the  horses  to  it,  but  they 
could  not  even  move  it  ;  so  he  took  the  horses  by  the  heads  to 
give  the  sledge  a  start,  but  he  pulled  so  hard  that  the  horses'  heads 
came  off.  He  then  turned  the  horses  out  of  the  shafts  and  drew 
the  load  himself. 

When  he  came  to  the  palace,  the  king  and  his  overlooker  were 
standing  in  the  hall  to  give  him  a  scolding  for  having  destroyed 
the  forest — the  overlooker  had  been  there  and  seen  what  he  had 
been  doing.  But  when  the  king  saw  the  youngster  dragging 
half  the  forest  after  him,  he  got  both  angry  and  afraid  ;  but  he 
thought  he  had  better  be  a  little  careful  with  him,  since  he  was 
strong. 

"  Well,  you  are  a  wonderful  workman,  to  be  sure,"  said  the  king  ; 
"  but  how  much  do  you  eat  at  a  time,  because  I  suppose  you  are 
hungry  now  ?  " 

Oh,  when  he  was  to  have  a  proper  meal  of  porridge,  it  would 
take  twelve  barrels  of  meal  to  make  it,  thought  the  youngster;  but 
when  he  had  put  that  away,  he  could  wait  a  while,  of  course,  for 
his  next  meal. 

It  took  some  time  to  boil  such  a  dish  of  porridge,  and  meantime 
he  was  to  bring  in  a  little  firewood  for  the  cook.  He  put  a  lot 
of  wood  on  a  sledge,  but  when  he  was  coming  through  the  door 

H 


98  THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 

with  it,  he  was  a  little  rough  and  careless  again.  The  house  got 
almost  out  of  shape,  and  all  the  joists  creaked  ;  he  was  very  near 
dragging  down  the  whole  palace.  When  the  porridge  was  nearly 
ready,  they  sent  him  out  to  call  the  people  home  from  the  fields.  He 
shouted  so  that  the  mountains  and  hills  around  rang  with  echoes, 
but  the  people  did  not  come  quick  enough  for  him.  He  came  to 
blows  with  them,  and  killed  twelve  of  them. 

"  You  have  killed  twelve  men,"  said  the  king  ;  "  and  you  eat  for 
many  times  twelve  ;  but  how  many  do  you  work  for  ?  " 

"  For  many  times  twelve  as  well,"  answered  the  youngster. 

When  he  had  finished  his  porridge,  he  was  to  go  into  the  barn 
to  thrash.  He  took  one  of  the  rafters  from  the  roof  and  made  a 
flail  out  of  it,  and  when  the  roof  was  about  to  fall  in,  he  took  a  big 
pine  tree  with  branches  and  all  and  put  it  up  instead  of  the  rafter. 
So  he  went  on  thrashing  the  grain  and  the  straw  and  the  hay 
all  together.  This  was  doing  more  damage  than  good,  for  the  corn 
and  the  chaff  flew  about  together,  and  a  cloud  of  dust  arose  over 
the  whole  palace. 

When  he  had  nearly  finished  thrashing,  enemies  came  into 
the  country,  as  a  war  was  coming  on.  So  the  king  told  the 
youngster  that  he  should  take  men  with  him  to  go  and  meet 
the  enemy  and  fight  them,  for  the  king  thought  they  would  surely 
kill  him. 

No,  he  would  not  have  any  men  with  him  to  be  cut  to  pieces ; 
he  would  fight  by  himself,  answered  the  youngster. 

"  So  much  the  better,"  thought  the  king ;  "  the  sooner  I  shall 
get  rid  of  him  ;  but  he  must  have  a  proper  club." 

They  sent  for  the  smith ;  he  forged  a  club  which  weighed  a 
hundredweight.  "A  very  nice  thing  to  crack  nuts  with,"  said  the 
youngster.  So  the  smith  made  one  of  three  hundredweight.  "  It 
would  do  very  well  for  hammering  nails  into  boots,"  was  the  answer 
Well,  the  smith  could  not  make  a  bigger  one  with  the  men  he  had. 
So  the  youngster  set  out  for  the  smithy  himself,  and  made  a  club 
that  weighed  five  tons,  and  it  took  a  hundred  men  to  turn  it  on 
the  anvil.  "  That  one  might  do  for  lack  of  a  better,"  thought  the 
youngster.  He  wanted  next  a  bag  with  some  provisions;  they 


THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER.  99 

had  to  make  one  out  of  fifteen  oxhides,  and  they  filled  it  with  food, 
and  away  he  went  down  the  hill  with  the  bag  on  his  back  and  the 
club  on  his  shoulder. 

When  he  came  so  far  that  the  enemy  saw  him,  they  sent  a 
soldier  to  ask  him  if  he  was  going  to  fight  them. 

"  Yes  ;  but  wait  a  little  till  I  have  had  something  to  eat,"  said 
the  youngster.  He  threw  himself  down  on  the  grass  and  began  to 
eat  with  the  big  bag  of  food  in  front  of  him. 

But  the  enemy  would  not  wait,  and  commenced  to  fire  at  him  at 
once,  till  it  rained  and  hailed  around  him  with  bullets. 

"  I  don't  mind  these  crowberries  a  bit,"  said  the  youngster,  and 
went  on  eating  harder  than  ever.  Neither  lead  nor  iron  took  any 
effect  upon  him,  and  his  bag  with  food  in  front  of  him  guarded 
him  against  the  bullets  as  if  it  were  a  rampart. 

So  they  commenced  throwing  bomb-shells  and  firing  cannons  at 
him.  He  only  grinned  a  little  every  time  he  felt  them. 

"  They  don't  hurt  me  a  bit,"  he  said.  But  just  then  he  got  a 
bomb-shell  right  down  his  windpipe. 

"  Fy  !  "  he  shouted,  and  spat  it  out  again  ;  but  then  a  chain-shot 
made  its  way  into  his  butter- can,  and  another  carried  away  the 
piece  of  food  he  held  between  his  fingers. 

That  made  him  angry  ;  he  got  up  and  took  his  big  club  and 
struck  the  ground  with  it,  asking  them  if  they  wanted  to  take  the 
food  out  of  his  mouth,  and  what  they  meant  by  blowing  crow- 
berries  at  him  with  those  pea-shooters  of  theirs.  He  then 
struck  the  ground  again  till  the  hills  and  rocks  rattled  and 
shook,  and  sent  the  enemy  flying  in  the  air  like  chaff.  This 
finished  the  war. 

When  he  came  home  again,  and  asked  for  more  work,  the 
king  was  taken  quite  aback,  for  he  thought  he  should  have  got  rid 
of  him  in  the  war.  He  knew  of  nothing  else  but  to  send  him  on 
a  message  to  the  devil. 

"  You  had  better  go  to  the  devil  and  ask  him  for  my  ground- 
rent, "he  said.  The  youngster  took  his  bag  on  his  back,  and  started 
at  once.  He  was  not  long  in  getting  there,  but  the  devil  was  gone 
to  court,  and  there  was  no  one  at  home  but  his  mother,  and  she 

H  2 


ioo  THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 


said  that  she  had  never  heard  talk  of  any  ground-rent.  He  had 
better  call  again  another  time. 

"  Yes,  call  again  to-morrow  is  always  the  cry,"  he  said ;  but  he 
was  not  going  to  be  made  a  fool  of,  he  told  her.  He  was  there,  and 
there  he  would  remain  till  he  got  the  ground-rent.  He  had  plenty 
of  time  to  wait.  But  when  he  had  finished  all  the  food  in  his  bag, 
the  time  hung  heavy  on  his  hands,  and  then  he  asked  the  old  lady 
for  the  ground-rent  again.  She  had  better  pay  it  now,  he  said. 

"  No,  she  was  going  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  she  said.  Her 
words  were  as  firm  as  the  old  fir  tree  just  outside  the  gates,  which 
was  so  big  that  fifteen  men  could  scarcely  span  it. 

But  the  youngster  climbed  right  up  in  the  top  of  it  and  twisted 
and  turned  it  as  if  it  was  a  willow,  and  then  he  asked  her  if  she 
was  going  to  pay  the  ground-rent  now. 

Yes,  she  dared  not  do  anything  else,  and  scraped  together  as 
much  money  as  he  thought  he  could  carry  in  his  bag.  He  then 
set  out  for  home  with  the  ground-rent,  but  as  soon  as  he  was 
gone,  the  devil  came  home.  When  he  heard  that  the  youngster  had 
gone  off  with  his  bag  full  of  money,  he  first  of  all  gave  his  mother 
a  hiding,  and  then  he  started  after  him,  thinking  he  would  soon 
overtake  him. 

He  soon  came  up  to  him,  for  he  had  nothing  to  carry,  and  now 
and  then  he  used  his  wings;  but  the  youngster  had  of  course  to  keep 
to  the  ground  with  his  heavy  bag.  Just  as  the  devil  was  at  his 
heels,  he  began  to  jump  and  run  as  fast  as  he  could.  He  kept  his 
club  behind  him  to  keep  the  devil  off,  and  thus  they  went  along> 
the  youngster  holding  the  handle  and  the  devil  trying  to  catch  hold 
of  the  other  end  of  it,  till  they  came  to  a  deep  valley.  There  the 
youngster  made  a  jump  across  from  the  top  of  one  hill  to  the  other, 
and  the  devil  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  follow  him  that  he  ran  his 
head  against  the  club  and  fell  down  into  the  valley  and  broke  his 
leg,  and  there  he  lay. 

"  There  is  the  ground-rent,"  said  the  youngster  when  he  came  to 
the  palace,  and  threw  the  bag  with  the  money  to  the  king  with 
such  a  crash  that  you  could  hear  it  all  over  the  hall. 

The  king  thanked  him,  and  appeared  to  be  well  pleased,  and 


THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER.  101 

promised  him  good  pay  and  leave  of  absence  if  he  wished  it,  but 
the  youngster  wanted  only  more  work. 

"  What  shall  I  do  now  ?     he  said. 

As  soon  as  the  king  had  had  time  to  consider,  he  told  him  that 
he  must  go  the  hill-troll,  who  had  taken  his  grandfather's  sword. 
The  troll  had  a  castle  by  the  sea,  where  no  one  dared  to  go. 

The  youngster  put  some  cartloads  of  food  into  his  bag  and  set  out 
again.  He  travelled  both  long  and  far,  over  woods  and  hills  and 
wild  moors,  till  he  came  to  the  big  mountains  where  the  troll,  who 
had  taken  the  sword  of  the  king's  grandfather,  was  living. 

But  the  troll  seldom  came  out  in  the  open  air,  and  the  moun- 
tain was  well  closed,  so  the  youngster  was  not  man  enough  to  get 
inside. 

So  he  joined  a  gang  of  quarrymen  who  were  living  at  a  farm  on 
top  of  the  hill,  and  who  were  quarrying  stones  in  the  hills  about 
there.  They  had  never  had  such  help  before,  for  he  broke  and 
hammered  away  at  the  rocks  till  the  mountain  cracked,  and  big 
stones  of  the  size  of  a  house  rolled  down  the  hill.  But  when  he 
rested  to  get  his  dinner,  for  which  he  was  going  to  have  one  of  the 
cartloads  in  his  bag,  he  found  it  was  all  eaten  up. 

"  I  have  generally  a  good  appetite  myself,"  said  the  youngster  ; 
"  but  the  one  who  has  been  here  can  do  a  trifle  more  than  I,  for  he 
has  eaten  all  the  bones  as  well." 

Thus  the  first  day  passed ;  and  he  fared  no  better  the  second. 
On  the  third  day  he  set  out  to  break  stones  again,  taking  with  him 
the  third  load  of  food  ;  but  he  lay  down  behind  the  bag  and  pre- 
tended to  be  asleep.  All  of  a  sudden,  a  troll  with  seven  heads 
came  out  of  the  mountain  and  began  to  eat  his  food. 

"  It's  all  ready  for  me  here,  and  I  will  eat,"  said  the  troll. 

"  We  will  see  about  that,"  said  the  youngster,  and  hit  the  troll 
with  his  club,  so  the  heads  rolled  down  the  hill. 

So  he  went  into  the  mountain  which  the  troll  had  come  out  of, 
and  in  there  stood  a  horse  eating  out  of  a  barrel  of  glowing 
cinders,  and  behind  it  stood  a  barrel  of  oats. 

"  Why  don't  you  eat  out  of  the  barrel  of  oats  ? "  asked  the 
youngster. 


io2  THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 

"  Because  I  cannot  turn  round,"  said  the  horse. 

"  But  I  will  soon  turn  you  round,"  said  the  youngster. 

"  Rather  cut  my  head  off,"  said  the  horse. 

So  he  cut  its  head  off,  and  the  horse  turned  into  a  fine  handsome 
fellow.  He  said  he  had  been  bewitched,  and  taken  into  the  moun- 
tain and  turned  into  a  horse  by  the  troll.  He  then  helped  the 
youngster  to  find  the  sword,  which  the  troll  had  hidden  at  the 
bottom  of  the  bed,  and  in  the  bed  lay  the  old  mother  of  the  troll, 
asleep  and  snoring  hard. 

So  they  set  out  for  home  by  water,  but  when  they  had  got  some 
distance  out  to  sea  the  old  mother  came  after  them.  As  she 
could  not  overtake  them,  she  lay  down  and  began  to  drink  the  sea, 
and  she  drank  till  the  water  fell ;  but  she  could  not  drink  the  sea 
dry,  and  so  she  burst. 

When  they  came  to  land,  the  youngster  sent  word  that  the  king 
must  come  and  fetch  the  sword.  He  sent  four  horses,  but  no, 
they  could  not  move  it ;  he  sent  eight,  and  he  sent  twelve ;  but  the 
sword  remained  where  it  was.  They  were  not  able  to  stir  it  from 
the  spot.  But  the  youngster  took  it  and  carried  it  up  to  the  palace 
alone. 

The  king  could  not  believe  his  eyes  when  he  saw  the  youngster 
back  again.  He  appeared  however  to  be  pleased  to  see  him,  and 
promised  him  land  and  riches.  When  the  youngster  wanted  more 
work,  the  king  said  he  might  set  out  for  an  enchanted  castle  he 
had,  where  no  one  dared  to  live,  and  he  would  have  to  stop  there 
till  he  had  built  a  bridge  over  the  sound,  so  that  people  couhl 
get  across  to  the  castle. 

If  he  was  able  to  do  this  he  would  reward  him  handsomely,  yes, 
he  would  even  give  him  his  daughter  in  marriage,  said  he. 

"  Well,  I  think  I  can  do  it,"  said  the  youngster. 

No  one  had  ever  got  away  alive  ;  those  who  had  got  as  far  as 
the  castle,  lay  there  killed  and  torn  to  pieces  as  small  as  barley, 
and  the  king  thought  he  should  never  see  him  any  more  if  he 
would  go  thither. 

But  the  youngster  started  on  his  expedition ;  he  took  with  him 
the  bag  of  food,  a  crooked,  twisted  block  of  a  fir  tree,  an  axe,  a 


THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER.  103 

wedge,  and  some  chips  of  the  fir  root,  and  the  small  pauper  boy 
at  the  palace. 

When  he  came  to  the  sound,  he  found  the  river  full  of  ice,  and 
the  current  ran  as  strong  as  in  a  waterfall ;  but  he  stuck  his  legs 
to  the  bottom  of  the  river  and  waded  till  he  got  safe  across. 

When  he  had  warmed  himself  and  had  something  to  eat,  he 
wanted  to  go  to  sleep,  but  before  long  he  heard  such  a  terrible 
noise,  as  if  they  were  turning  the  castle  upside  down.  The  door 
burst  wide  open,  and  he  saw  nothing  but  a  gaping  jaw  extending 
from  the  threshold  up  to  the  lintel. 

"  There  is  a  mouthful  for  you,"  said  the  youngster,  and  threw  the 
pauper  boy  into  the  swallow  ;  "  taste  that !  But  let  me  see  now 
who  you  are  !  Perhaps  you  are  an  old  acquaintance  ? " 

And  so  it  was  ;  it  was  the  devil  who  was  about  again. 

They  began  to  play  cards,  for  the  devil  wanted  to  try  and  win 
back  some  of  the  ground-rent  which  the  youngster  had  got  out  of 
his  mother  by  threats,  when  he  was  sent  by  the  king  to  collect  it ; 
but  the  youngster  was  always  the  fortunate  one,  for  he  put  a  cross 
on  the  back  of  all  the  good  cards,  and  when  he  had  won  all  the 
money  which  the  devil  had  upon  him,  the  devil  had  to  pay  him  out 
of  the  gold  and  silver  which  was  in  the  castle. 

Suddenly  the  fire  went  out,  so  they  could  not  tell  the  one  card 
from  the  other. 

"  We  must  chop  some  wood  now,"  said  the  youngster,  who  drove 
the  axe  into  the  fir  block,  and  forced  the  wedge  in ;  but  the  twisted, 
knotty  block  would  not  split,  although  the  youngster  worked  as 
hard  as  he  could  with  the  axe. 

"They  say  you  are  strong,"  he  said  to  the  devil ;  "just  spit  on 
your  hands,  stick  your  claws  in,  and  tear  away,  and  let  me  see  what 
you  are  made  of." 

The  devil  did  so,  and  put  both  his  fists  into  the  split  and  pulled 
as  hard  as  he  could,  when  the  youngster  suddenly  struck  the  wedge 
out,  and  the  devil  stuck  fast  in  the  block  and  the  youngster  let  him 
also  have  a  taste  of  the  butt  end  of  his  axe  on  his  back.  The 
devil  begged  and  prayed  so  nicely  to  be  let  loose,  but  the  youngster 
would  not  listen  to  anything  of  the  kind  unless  he  promised  that 


104  THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 


he  would  never  come  there  any  more  and  create  any  disturbance. 
He  also  had  to  promise  that  he  would  build  a  bridge  over  the 
sound,  so  that  people  could  pass  over  it  at  all  times  of  the  year,  and 
it  should  be  ready  when  the  ice  was  gone. 

"  They  are  very  hard  conditions,"  said  the  devil ;  but  there  was 
no  other  way  out  of  it — if  the  devil  wanted  to  be  set  free,  he 
would  have  to  promise  it.  He  bargained,  however,  that  he  should 
have  the  first  soul  that  went  across  the  bridge.  That  was  to  be 
the  toll. 

Yes,  he  should  have  that,  said  the  youngster.  So  the  devil  was 
let  loose,  and  he  started  home.  But  the  youngster  lay  down  to 
sleep,  and  slept  till  far  into  the  day. 

When  the  king  came  to  see  if  he  was  cut  and  chopped  into 
small  pieces,  he  had  to  wade  through  all  the  money  before  he  came 
to  his  bedside.  There  was  money  in  heaps  and  in  bags  wh'ch 
reached  far  up  the  wall,  and  the  youngster  lay  in  bed  asleep  and 
snoring  hard. 

"  Lord  help  me  and  my  daughter,"  said  the  king  when  he  saw 
that  the  youngster  was  alive.  Well,  all  was  good  and  well  done, 
that  no  one  could  deny;  but  there  was  no  hurry  talking  of  the 
wedding  before  the  bridge  was  ready. 

One  day  the  bridge  stood  ready,  and  the  devil  was  there  waiting 
for  the  toll  which  he  had  bargained  for. 

The  youngster  wanted  the  king  to  go  with  him  and  try  the 
bridge,  but  the  king  had  no  mind  to  do  it.  So  he  mounted  a 
horse  himself,  and  put  the  fat  dairy-maid  in  the  palace  on  the 
pommel  in  front  of  him  ;  she  looked  almost  like  a  big  fir  block, 
and  so  he  rode  over  the  bridge,  which  thundered  under  the 
horse's  feet. 

"  Where  is  the  toll  ?  Where  have  you  got  the  soul  ?  "  cried  the 
devil. 

"  Why,  inside  this  fir-block,"  said  the  youngster  ;  "  if  you  want 
it  you  will  have  to  spit  in  your  hands  and  take  it." 

"  No,  many  thanks !  if  she  does  not  come  to  me,  I  am  sure  I 
sha'n't  take  her,"  said  the  devil.  "  You  got  me  once  into  a  pinch, 
and  I'll  take  care  you  don't  get  me  into  another,"  and  with  that  he 


THE  GREEDY  YOUNGSTER. 


107 


flew  straight  home  to  his  old  mother,  and  since  that  time  he  has 
never  been  heard  or  seen  thereabouts. 

The  youngster  went  home  to  the  palace  and  asked  for  the  reward 
the  king  had  promised  him,  and  when  the  king  wanted  to  get  out 
of  it,  and  would  not  stick  to  what  he  had  promised,  the  youngster 
said  it  was  best  he  got  a  good  bag  of  food  ready  for  him,  and  he 
would  take  his  reward  himself. 

Yes,  the  king  would  see  to  that,  and  when  the  bag  was  ready 
the  youngster  asked  the  king  to  come  outside  the  door.  The 
youngster  then  gave  the  king  such  a  kick,  which  sent  him  flying 
up  in  the  air.  The  bag  he  threw  after  him  that  he  might  not  be 
without  food,  and  if  he  has  not  come  down  again  by  this,  he  is 
floating  about  with  his  bag  between  heaven  and  earth  to  this 
very  day. 


THE    SEVEN    FATHERS    IN    THE    HOUSE. 


THERE  was  once  upon  a  time  a 
man  who  was  travelling  about,  and 
he  came  at  length  to  a  big  and  fine 
farm  ;  it  was  such  a  fine  mansion  that 
it  might  well  have  been  a  little  palace. 
<f  It  would  be  a  nice  thing  to  get  a 
night's  rest  here,"  said  the  man  to 
himself,  when  he  came  inside  the  gate. 
Close  by  stood  an  old  man  with  grey 
hair  and  beard,  and  chopped  wood. 
"Good  evening,  father,"  said  the 
traveller;  "can  I  get  lodgings  here 
to-night  ? "  "  I  am  not  the  father  in 
the  house,"  said  the  old  man,  "go  into 
the  kitchen  and  speak  to  my  father  ! " 
The  traveller  went  into  the  kitchen  ;  there  he  met  a  man  who  was 
still  older,  and  he  was  lying  on  his  knees  in  front  of  the  hearth, 


THE  SEVEN  FATHERS  IN  THE  HOUSE. 


109 


blowing  into  the  fire.  "  Good  evening,  father  ;  can  I  get  lodgings 
here  to-night  ?  "  asked  the  traveller.  "  I  am  not  the  father  in  the 
house,"  said  the  old  man ;  "  but  go  in  and  speak  to  my  father  ;  he 
is  sitting  by  the  table  in  the  parlour."  So  the  traveller  went  into 
the  parlour  and  spoke 
to  him  who  was  sitting 
by  the  table  ;  he  was 
much  older  than  the 
other  two,  and  he  sat 
there  with  chattering 
teeth,  shaking,  and  read- 
ing in  a  big  book,  al- 
most like  a  little  child. 
"  Good  evening,  father  ; 
can  you  give  me  lodg- 
ings here to-night? "said 
the  man.  "I  am  not 
the  father  in  the  house  ; 
but  speak  to  my  father 
over  there,  he  who  sits 
on  the  bench,"  said  the 
man  who  was  sitting  at 
the  table  with  chatter- 
ing teeth,  and  shaking 
and  shivering.  So  the 
traveller  went  to  him 
who  was  sitting  on  the 
bench  ;  he  was  getting 
a  pipe  of  tobacco  ready; 
but  he  was  so  bent  with 
age,  and  his  hands  shook  so  much,  that  he  was  scarcely  able  to  hold 
the  pipe.  "  Good  evening,  father,"  said  the  traveller  again  ;  "  can  I 
get  lodgings  here  to-night  ?  " — "  I  am  not  the  father  in  the  house," 
said  the  old,  bent-up  man  ;  "  but  speak  to  my  father,  who  is  in  the 
bed  over  yonder. "  The  traveller  went  to  the  bed,  and  there  lay  an 
old,  old  man,  and  the  only  th:ng  about  him  that  seemed  to  b~  alive 


\ 


110 


THE  SEVEN  FATHERS  IN  THE  HOUSE. 


was  a  pair  of  big  eyes.  "  Good  evening,  father ;  can  I  get  lodgings 
here  to-night  ? "  said  the  traveller.  "  I  am  not  the  father  in  the 
house ;  but  speak  to  my  father,  who  lies  in  the  cradle  yonder," 
said  the  man  with  the  big  eyes.  Yes,  the  traveller  went  to  the 
cradle  ;  there  was  a  very  old  man  lying,  so  shrivelled  up,  that  he 
was  not  larger  than  a  baby,  and  one  could  not  have  told  that  there 
was  life  in  him  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  sound  in  his  throat  now  and 
then.  "  Good  evening,  father  ;  can  I  get  lodgings  here  to-night  ? " 
said  the  man.  It  took  some  time  before  he  got  an  answer,  and  still 
longer  before  he  had  finished  it  ;  he  said,  like  the  others,  that  he 

was  not  the  father  in  the  house  ; 
"  But  speak  to  my  father ;  he  is 
hanging  up  in  the  horn  against  the 
wall  there."  The  traveller  stared 
round  the  walls,  and  at  last  he 
caught  sight  of  the  horn  ;  but  when 
he  looked  for  him  who  hung  in  it, 
there  was  scarcely  anything  to  be 
seen  but  a  lump  of  white  ashes, 
which  had  the  appearance  of  a 
man's  face.  Then  he  was  so 
frightened,  that  he  cried  aloud  : 
"  Good  evening,  father  ;  will  you 
give  me  lodgings  here  to-night  ? " 
There  was  a  sound  like  a  little  tom- 
tit's chirping,  but  it  was  no  more 

than  he  was  just  able  to  understand  that  it  meant,  "  Yes,  my 
child."  And  now  a  table  came  in  which  was  covered  with  the 
costliest  dishes,  with  ale  and  brancly;  and  when  he  had  eaten  and 
drunk,  in  came  a  good  bed  with  reindeer  skins,  and  the  traveller 
was  very  glad  indeed  that  he  at  last  had  found  the  right  father 
in  the  house. 


BRAVE    OLD   BRUIN. 


.-  •  ,'   -rvr   ; 

£5  i 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  \vas  a  farmer 
who  went  up  into  the  hills  for  a  load 
of  leaves  for  his  cattle  in  the  winter. 
When  he  came  to  the  heap  of  leaves 
he  backed  the  horse  and  sledge  close 
to  it  and  went  to  the  other  side  to 
throw  the  layers  of  leaves  on  to  the 
sledge.  But  under  the  heap  there  was 
a  bear,  who  had  made  his  lair  there  for 
the  winter,  and  when  he  felt  some  one 
stirring  round  about  him,  he  made  a 
jump  and  came  right  out  on  to  the 
sledge.  When  the  horse  got  wind  of 
Bruin  he  was  frightened  and  ran  off,  as 
if  he  had  stolen  both  the  bear  and  the  sledge,  and  away  they  went 
down  the  hill  ten  times  as  fast  as  they  came  up.  Bruin  has  the 
name  of  being  a  brave  fellow,  but  this  time  I  am  afraid  he  felt 
somewhat  frightened  as  he  sat  there  on  the  sledge.  He  stuck  to  it 
as  well  as  he  could,  but  gave  a  timid  look  round  no»v  and  then  to- 


ii2  BRAVE  OLD  BRUIN. 


see  if  there  were  any  place  where  he  could  throw  himself  off  with 
safety  ;  but  he  was  not  used  to  sledge-driving,  and  he  thought  he 
had  better  not  risk  it. 

When  he  had  driven  some  distance  he  met  a  pedlar. 

"  Where  is  the  sher.ff  off  to,  to-day  ?  "  said  the  pedlar  ;  "  he  must 
have  a  long  way  and  little  time,  since  he  is  driving  so  fast." 

But  Bruin  did  not  say  a  word,  for  he  had  more  than  enough  to 
do  to  hold  on.  In  a  little  while  he  met  a  beggar-woman.  She 
greeted  him,  nodded  her  head,  and  begged  for  a  penny  in  God's 
name.  Bruin  said  nothing,  but  stuck  to  the  sledge,  and  away  he 
went  as  fast  as  ever.  When  he  came  a  little  further  down  the  road 
he  met  Reynard  the  Fox. 

"  Hallo,  are  you  out  taking  a  drive  ?  "  shouted  Reynard.  "  Wait 
a  bit  ;  let  me  sit  behind,  and  be  your  postboy!"  Bruin  made  no 
reply,  but  held  on  to  the  sledge,  and  the  horse  ran  as  fast  as  his 
legs  would  carry  him.  "All  right!"  shouted  Reynard  after  him, 
"if  you  won't  take  me  with  you  I  tell  you  this,  that  although  you 
drive  like  a  travelling  gent  to-day,  all  in  your  furs,  you'll  hang  to- 
morrow with'  your  back  bare  !  "  Bruin  did  not  hear  a  word  of  what 
Reynard  said  ;  he  never  stopped  a  moment.  But  when  the  horse 
came  into  the  farmyard,  he  galloped  right  through  the  stable  door 
at  such  a  speed,  that  he  left  both  harness  and  sledge  behind  ;  and 
Bruin — why  he  knocked  his  skull  against  the  top  of  the  door,  and 
there  he  lay,  dead  on  the  spot. 

In  the  meantime  the  farmer  went  on  turning  over  the  one  layer 
of  leaves  after  the  other,  till  he  thought  he  had  loaded  his  sledge  ; 
but  when  he  came  round  to  tie  the  rope  round  the  load,  he  saw 
neither  horse  nor  sledge.  So  he  had  to  tramp  along  the  road 
looking  for  his  horse. 

In  a  while  he  met  the  pedlar.  "  Have  you  met  any  horse  and 
sledge?"  said  the  farmer  to  the  pedlar. — "No,"  said  the  pedlar, 
"  but  I  met  the  sheriff  down  the  road.  He  was  in  such  a  hurry,  he 
was  surely  going  to  serve  a  writ  on  some  one." — Shortly  he  met  a 
beggar-woman.  "  Have  you  seen  any  horse  and  sledge  on  the 
road  ? "  he  said  to  the  beggar-woman. — "  No,"  said  the  beggar-woman, 
"  but  I  met  the  parson  down  below  here ;  he  was  surely  going  to 


BRAVE  OLD  BRUIN.  113 

some  sick  person  who  was  dying,  for  he  travelled  so  fast,  and  he 
was  driving  in  a  common  sledge." — In  a  while  the  farmer  met  the 
fox,  "  Have  you  seen  any  horse  and  sledge  ? "  asked  the  farmer. — 
"  Yes,"  answered  Reynard,  "  but  old  Bruin  sat  on  the  sledge  and 
drove  just  as  if  he  had  stolen  both  horse  and  turn-out." — "Bad 
luck  to  him,  the  rascal ! "  said  the  farmer.  "  I  suppose  he  will 
drive  my  horse  to  death." — "  If  he  does,  take  and  skin  him  and 
roast  him  on  the  cinders,"  said  Reynard  ;  "  but  if  you  should  get 
your  horse  back  again,  you  might  give  me  a  ride  over  the  mountain 
one  day  ;  I  have  such  a  mind  to  try  what  it's  like  to  have  four 
legs  before  me." — "What  will  you  give  for  the  lift? "asked  the 
farmer. — "  Oh,  anything  you  like,  wet  or  dry,"  said  the  fox  ; 
"you'll  always  get  as  much  out  of  me  as  of  old  Bruin,  for  he  is 
generally  a  rough  fellow  to  deal  with,  when  he  goes  a-driving  and 
sticks  to  the  horse's  back." — "  Well,  yes  !  you  shall  have  a  lift  over 
the  mountain,"  said  the  farmer,  "  if  you'll  meet  me  here  to-morrow 
about  this  time."  He  guessed  that  Reynard  was  going  to  make  a 
fool  of  him  and  play  off  some  of  his  tricks  upon  him  ;  so  he  took  a 
loaded  gun  with  him  in  the  sledge  next  day,  and  when  Reynard 
came,  thinking  to  get  the  drive  promised  him  for  nothing,  he  got  a 
charge  of  shot  in  his  body.  The  farmer  flayed  him  as  he  had 
the  bear,  and  so  he  had  both  bear-skin  and  fox-skin. 


MOTHER    BERTHA'S   STORIES. 


REYNARD  had  been  ringed  and  shot ;  his  funeral  was  celebrated 
at  the  bailiff's,  and  in  the  evening  the  festivities  wound  up  with  a 
dance.  In  consideration  of  the  day's  work,  the  acquired  glory,  and 
the  five  miles'  journey  I  had  before  me,  we  got  permission  to  break 
up  soon  after  eleven,  and  the  bailiff  offered  me  in  the  bargain  a 
horse  and  sledge.  It  was  an  offer  worthy  of  all  honour ;  but  as  the 
road  was  twice  as  long  as  the  way  I  had  come  on  my  snowshoes  I 
preferred  this  direct  route,  and  with  the  fox  and  the  gun  on  my 
back,  and  the  staff  in  my  hand,  I  set  out  homewards.  The  snow 
was  in  splendid  condition  for  my  mode  of  travelling ;  there  had 
been  a  little  sunshine  during  the  day  and  the  chill  of  the  evening 


MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES.  117 

had  formed  a  light  crust  on  the  deep  snow ;  the  moon  shone 
brightly,  and  the  stars  were  twinkling  in  the  sky. 

What  more  could  I  desire  ?  Away  I  went,  down  the  hills,  over 
the  fields,  and  through  the  woods,  past  the  erect,  silvery  beech- 
trees,  the  crowns  of  which  formed  lofty,  sparkling  domes  of  a  white, 
glistening  tissue,  under  which  the  owls  sat  relating  their  terrible 
stories  in  the  peaceful  night.  The  hare  cried  and  complained  of 
the  terrible  February  cold  and  the  disgusting  chatter  of  the  owls  ; 
the  fox  was  out  on  Icve-adventures,  abused  his  rivals,  and  uttered 
scoffing  screams  and  howls. 

I  kept  on  the  side  of  the  parish  road  for  some  distance,  and 
then  a  person  in  a  big  fur-coat  and  driving  in  a  sledge  came  up 
with  me.  Seeing  by  the  gun  and  the  fox,  which  I  carried  on  my 
back,  that  I  was  a  sportsman,  he  entered  into  conversation  with  me. 
If  I  hurried  down  to  the  river,  he  said,  I  should  be  sure  to  fall  in 
with  a  pack  of  wolves,  for  just  as  he  was  driving  up  the  hill  close 
to  the  sound,  they  started  up  the  river  on  the  ice.  I  thanked  him 
for  the  information,  and  made  for  the  river,  and  came  out  at  a 
point  where  a  pine  wood  stretched  itself  down  to  the  river's  edge, 
and  prevented  a  full  view  of  the  river.  I  saw  no  signs  of  the 
wolves.  I  rushed,  however,  down  the  hill  on  my  snow-shoes, 
sweeping  through  the  wood  in  the  shadow  of  the  pine-trees,  with 
the  protruding  alder  branches  continually  slapping  me  in  the  face. 
It  was  impossible  for  me  to  distinguish  any  object,  as  I  sped  on 
with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow,  and  before  I  knew  where  I  was  I 
had  run  against  the  stump  of  a  tree.  I  lay  with  my  head  buried 
in  the  snow,  and  with  one  of  my  snowshoes  broken. 

When  I  got  on  my  feet,  I  felt  such  a  pain  in  one  of  my  legs  that 
I  could  scarcely  stand.  I  crept  about  on  my  knees  for  some  time 
till  I  at  last  found  my  gun,  which  was  buried  in  the  snow.  I  had 
scarcely  lain  down  in  wait  near  the  bank  of  the  river,  before  the 
pack  of  wolves  came  leisurely  along  on  the  ice  ;  there  were  five  of 
them  altogether.  I  waited  with  a  sportsman's  impatience ;  when 
they  were  about  forty  paces  distant,  I  put  my  gun  up  and  fired, 
first  one  barrel,  which  missed  fire,  and  then  the  other,  which  went 
off;  but  the  bullet  hit  the  tops  of  the  pine  trees  on  the.  other  side 


n8  MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 

of  the  river,  and  the  wolves  set  off  at  full  speed  with  their  tails 
straight  out  behind  them. 

I  rose  rather  annoyed ;  the  pain  in  my  leg  had  grown  more  in- 
tense ;  but  with  the  help  of  my  gun  as  a  stick,  I  dragged  myself  out 
on  the  river  to  see  whereabouts  I  really  was.  To  my  great  joy  I  saw 
a  column  of  smoke  ascending  between  the  tops  of  the  trees  on  the 
opposite  bank,  and  I  also  discovered  a  roof  of  a  cottage  amid  the 
pines.  I  knew  the  place  now,  it  was  Tuppenhaug,  a  small  farm 
held  by  a  tenant  on  the  estate  where  I  lived  at  that  time.  With 
great  difficulty  I  crawled  up  the  steep  incline,  which  might  have 
been  a  couple  of  hundred  paces  in  length,  and  had  the  satisfaction 
to  see  the  light  from  a  big  fire  shining  through  the  windows,  I 
limped  towards  the  door,  raised  the  latch,  and  entered  the  room, 
just  as  I  was,  covered  all  over  with  snow. 

"  Bless  me,  who  can  that  be ! "  cried  old  Mother  Bertha  in  a 
great  fright,  and  dropped  a  leg  of  dried  mutton  which  she  had  on 
her  knee.  She  was  sitting  on  a  small  stool  in  front  of  the  fire, 
cutting  herself  some  slices  off  the  mutton. 

"  Good  evening,  Bertha,"  I  said  ;  "  don't  be  afraid  !  You  know 
me,  I  think  ! " 

"  Ah,  is  it  the  student,  who  is  out  so  late  ?  I  really  was  fright- 
ened ;  you  looked  so  white,  with  all  that  snow  on  you,  and  it's  so 
late,"  answered  old  Bertha,  and  rose  from  her  seat. 

I  told  her  of  my  mishap,  and  asked  her  to  call  one  of  the  lads 
and  send  him  up  to  the  house  for  a  horse  and  sledge. 

"  Well,  it  is,  as  I  say,  that  the  wolves  take  their  revenge,"  she 
muttered  to  herself.  "  They  wouldn't  believe  it  when  they  chased 
and  ringed  them  last  year,  and  Peter  broke  his  leg  ;  now  he  knows 
that  they  take  their  revenge/' 

"  Some  of  the  neighbours  have  been  carting  timber  from  the 
river  lately,"  she  continued,  as  she  went  over  to  the  bed  in  the 
corner  of  the  room,  where  the  family  lay  sleeping  and  snoring  in 
chorus,  "  so  there  is  a  good  road  across  the  fields  on  the  snow. 
Here,  Little  Ola,  get  up  and  go  for  a  horse  for  the  student !  Don't 
you  hear,  Ola!" 

"  Oh,  yes  ! "  said  Little  Ola  through  his  nose,  and  began  putting 


MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 


119 


his  clothes  on.  He  enjoyed  a  good  sleep  too  well  to  be  so  easily 
disturbed.  He  never  had  done  rubbing  his  eyes,  gaping,  gasping, 
and  asking  silly  questions,  before  he  managed  to  extricate  himself 
from  the  entangled  bed-clothes  and  specimens  of  humanity  in  the 
bed,  and  got  his  trousers  and  jacket  on,  and  before  he  could  really 
understand  what  he  was  to  do.  The  promise  of  a  sixpence  seemed, 
however,  to  impart  some  clearness  to  his  comprehension  and  even 


dispel  his  fear  at  the  thought  of  passing  the  birch-tree  on  the 
road  where  Ole  Askerud  hung  himself.  While  this  was  going  on 
between  the  white-haired  Ola  and  old  Bertha,  I  took  a  survey  of 
the  room  and  its  contents — looms,  spinning  wheels,  chairs,  brooms, 
buckets  and  half-finished  axe-handles,  the  hens  on  their  perch  be- 
hind the  door,  the  old  musket  under  the  roof,  the  long  poles  under 
the  rafters  groaning  under  the  weight  of  steaming  stockings,  and 


120  MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 

hundreds  of  other  things,  which  I  will  not  tire  my  readers  by 
enumerating. 

When  the  boy  at  last  was  gone,  old  Bertha  seated  herself  again 
by  the  hearth.  She  was  in  her  holiday  dress,  the  one  worn  by  old 
people  in  her  native  district  Hadeland,  where  she  came  from  when 
she  moved  to  Romerike — a  blue  jacket  trimmed  with  braid,  black 
kiited  skirt,  and  cap  with  ruffles  and  bows.  Her  sharp  immovable 
eyes  with  irregular  pupils,  her  projecting  chin,  her  broad  nose,  and 
her  yellow  complexion  gave  Bertha's  face  a  strange,  Oriental, 
almost  witchlike  appearance  ;  and  this  was  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
because  she  was  considered  the  first  wise  woman  for  a  good  many 
miles  around. 

I  wondered  that  she  still  was  up,  and  I  asked  if  she  expected 
visitors,  since  she  had  her  best  clothes  on. 

"  No,  not  that  exactly,"  she  answered,  "  but  I  have  been  up  in 
Ullensogn  to  see  to  a  woman  who  suffered  from  a  wasting  disease, 
and  from  that  place  I  was  fetched  to  a  youngster  who  had  the 
rickets.  I  had  to  read  and  melt  lead  over  that  child.  I  have 
only  just  returned  home,  although  they  drove  me  as  far  as  the 
innkeeper's." 

"  But  if  I  recollect  rightly,  Bertha,  you  can  cure  sprains  as 
well  ? "  I  asked,  as  seriously  as  possible. 

"Oh  yes,  I  think  I  can,  for  Siri,  our  neighbour,  didn't  get 
well  before  I  came  to  her,  although  the  doctor  and  Mother  Kari, 
on  the  farm  just  below  here,  had  been  experimenting  on  her  leg," 
she  said  with  a  wicked  expression;  "and  if  you  think  it  will  do 
any  good,"  she  continued,  with  a  suspicious  look,  "  I  don't  think  it 
would  hurt  your  foot  to  read  over  a  little  brandy  and  put  on  it." 

"  Yes,  do  so,  Bertha,  read  over  the  brandy  and  try  it  ;  it's  sure 
to  do  me  good,"  I  said,  hoping  to  become  initiated  into  one  or 
other  of  the  mysteries  of  the  art  of  healing  by  magic.  Bertha 
fetched  a  square,  bluish-looking  flask,  and  a  glass  with  a  wooden 
stem,  from  her  flower-painted  cupboard,  poured  out  the  brandy,  put 
the  glass  on  the  hearth  by  her  side,  buttoned  up  my  snow  socks, 
and  pulled  my  boot  off.  She  then  began  making  crosses  over  the 
brandy  and  whispering  into  it,  but  as  she  was  rather  deaf  herself, 


MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES.  121 

she  did  not  adjust  her  voice  to  my  car,  and  so  I  heard  the  whole 
formula : — 

"  As  I  was  riding  through  a  gate, 
My  black  horse  chanced  to  get  a  sprain, 
Flesh  placed  'gainst  flesh,  and  blood  'gainst  blood 
Have  made  my  black  horse  well  again." 

Her  voice  now  subsided  to  an  inaudible  whisper.  The  end  of  the 
verse  consisted  of  a  repetition  of  the  word  "  fy, "  which  she  hurled 
to  the  four  corners  of  the  world. 

During  the  height  of  this  incantation  she  had  risen  from  her  seat ; 
now  she  sat  down  again  by  the  hearth.  The  cold  brandy,  which 
she  now  poured  over  my  foot,  had  a  pleasant  cooling  effect. 

"  I  think  it  has  already  done  me  good,  Bertha,"  said  I  ;  "  but 
tell  me,  what  was  that  you  read  over  the  brandy  ? " 

"  No,  I  dare  not  tell  you  that,  for  you  might  tell  the  parson 
and  the  doctor,"  she  said  with  a  sly  grin,  which  apparently  meant 
that  she  did  not  care  much  for  either  of  them;  "and  I  had  to 
promise  the  one  who  taught  it  to  me  that  I  would  not  tell  any 
human  being  except  my  own  kin.  I  have  sworn  to  it  with  such  a 
frightful  oath,  that  I  hope  I  shall  never  utter  anything  so  frightful 
again." 

"  Well,  there  is  no  use  asking  you  any  more  about  that,  Bertha," 
said  I,  "but  I  suppose  it's  no  secret,  who  taught  you  the  art  ?  He 
must  have  been  a  regular  sorcerer." 

"  Yes,  you  are  quite  right  there  ;  he  was  a  regular  sorcerer — he 
was  my  mother's  own  brother,  Mads  in  Hurdale,"  she  answered. 
"  He  could  read  over  and  cure  all  sorts  of  ailments  and  sprains, 
stop  bleeding,  melt  lead,  and  tell  of  stolen  goods ;  and  to  tell  the 
truth,  he  knew  also  a  little  about  witchcraft,  and  could  afflict  people 
with  evil.  It  was  he  who  taught  me  !  But  wise  as  he  was,  he  could 
not  protect  himself  'gainst  witchcraft  for  all  that !  " 

"  How?"  I  asked,  "was  he  bewitched  then?   Was  he  possessed?" 

"  No,  not  exactly,"  answered  Bertha.  "  But  something  happened 
to  him,  and  afterwards  he  seemed  to  be  quite  another  man  for 
some  time.  He  must  have  been  spellbound  by  the  huldre.  You 


122  MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 

don't  think  it's  true,  I  suppose,"  she  said  with  a  searching  look  ; 
"  but  it  was  my  mother's  brother,  as  I  told  you,  and  I  have  heard 
him  tell  it  and  swear  to  it  over  a  hundred  times." 

"  He  lived  at  Knee,  in  Hurdale,  and  he  was  often  up  in  the 
mountain  cutting  wood  and  timber,  and  when  he  was  up  there,  he 
used  to  live  there  altogether ;  he  built  himself  a  hut  of  pine 
branches,  and  lighted  a  fire  in  front  of  it  at  night,  and  there  he 
used  to  sleep.  He  and  two  others  were  once  living  thus  in  the 
forest.  He  had  just  felled  a  big  tree,  and  sat  resting  himself  on 
it,  when  a  ball  of  worsted  came  rolling  down  a  bare  part  of  the 
rock  right  before  his  feet.  He  thought  it  was  very  strange  ;  he 
was  afraid  to  pick  up  the  ball.  It  would  have  been  a  good  thing 
for  him  if  he  never  had  touched  it.  But  he  looked  up  the  moun- 
tain, as  he  wanted  to  see  where  it  came  from,  and  on  the  top 
of  a  rock  sat  a  lassie  and  sewed.  She  was  so  fair  and  so  lovely 
that  the  air  seemed  to  shine  round  her. 

"Bring  me  that  ball  of  worsted,"  she  said.  He  did  so,  and 
remained  standing  near  her  and  looking  at  hen  He  thought  he 
never  should  tire  looking  at  her;  she  seemed  so  lovely  to  him. 
But  he  had  to  take  his  axe  at  last  and  begin  cutting  trees  again. 
When  he  had  been  working  away  for  some  time,  he  looked  up, 
but  then  she  was  gone.  He  could  not  help  thinking  of  her  all 
day  ;*it  seemed  very  strange  to  him,  and  he  did  not  know  what 
to  think  about  it.  But  when  the  evening  came,  and  he  and  his 
two  comrades  were  going  to  bed,  he  wanted  to  lie  between  them ; 
but  there  was  not  much  help  in  that,  I  should  say,  for  during 
the  night  the  huldre  came  and  took  him  away  with  her.  He 
had  to  go,  whether  he  liked  or  not.  So  they  came  into  the  moun- 
tain, where  he  found  everything  so  splendid  that  he  had  never  seen 
anything  so  grand  before,  and  he  never  could  describe  it  properly. 
He  was  three  days  with  the  huldre.  The  third  night  he  awoke 
and  found  himself  in  bed  between  his  two  comrades  again.  They 
thought  he  had  been  home  for  provisions,  and  he  told  them  he  had 
done  so.  But  he  was  not  quite  in  his  right  senses  afterwards  ;  just 
as  he  was  sitting  down,  he  would  jump  up  and  run  away ;  he  was 
spellbound,  I  can  tell  you. 


MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES.  125 

'*  But  a  good  while  after  that  he  was  up  in  the  wood  busy  cutting 
up  some  materials  for  fencing.  He  was  driving  a  wedge  into  a  big 
log,  when,  as  he  thought,  his  wife  came  up  to  him  with  his  dinner. 
It  was  cream  porridge,  floating  in  butter.  She  brought  it  in  a  pail, 
which  was  so  bright  that  it  shone  like  silver.  She  sat  down  on  the 
log,  while  he  put  his  axe  aside  and  seated  himself  on  a  stump  near 
her ;  but  he  then  discovered  that  there  was  a  cow's  tail  hanging 
down  into  the  cleft  in  the  log. 

"  Now  you  may  easily  suppose  that  he  did  not  touch  the  por- 
ridge, but  he  sat  laughing  and  playing  with  the  wedge,  until  it 
came  out  and  the  tail  was  nipped  by  the  log,  and  at  the  same  time 
he  wrote  a  sacred  name  on  the  pail. 

"  But  the  huldre  took  to  her  heels  then,  you  may  be  sure ;  she 
jumped  up  in  such  a  hurry  that  the  tail  came  right  off  and  stuck  in 
the  log,  and  she  was  gone, — he  did  not  see  what  became  of  her. 
The  pail  was  only  of  bark,  and  there  was  nothing  but  dirt  in  it. 
Since  that  time  he  scarcely  ever  dared  to  go  out  in  the  wood,  for 
he  was  afraid  she  would  have  her  revenge  upon  him. 

"  But  four  or  five  years  after  that,  a  horse  of  his  ran  away  from 
the  farm,  and  he  had  to  go  himself  and  look  for  it.  All  of  a 
sudden,  while  he  was  walking  through  the  forest,  he  found  himself 
inside  a  hut  with  some  people,  but  he  never  knew  how  he  came 
there.  An  ugly  old  hag  was  walking  about  the  room  tidying  it 
up,  and  in  a  corner  sat  a  child,  who  might  be  about  four  years  old. 
The  woman  took  the  beer-tankard  and  went  over  to  the  child  with 
it  and  said  :  '  Go  and  give  your  father  a  drink  ! '  He  got  so 
frightened  that  he  took  to  his  heels,  and  since  he  has  never  seen 
or  heard  of  her  or  the  youngster ;  but  he  was  always  queer  and 
confused  after  that." 

"  Yes,  but  he  must  have  been  a  fool,  that  Mads,"  I  said,  "  he 
couldn't  have  been  much  of  a  wise  man,  since  he  couldn't  mind 
himself  better.  But  that  about  the  ball  of  grey  worsted  was  very 
amusing." 

Bertha  thought  so  also,  but  such  a  wise  man  as  Mads  was  could 
not,  however,  be  found  for  many  miles  around.  While  we  were 
sitting  and  chatting  about  this,  I  asked  Bertha  to  bring  me  my 


126  MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 

game-bag,  and  when  I  had  filled  my  pipe  she  gave  me  a  lighted 
piece  of  wood  r.nd  commenced  a  new  story,  which  I  had  heard 
she  knew. 

"  One  summer,  long,  long  ago,  the  Melbustad  people  sent  their 
cattle  up  to  their  dairy  in  the  Halland  hills.  But  before  long  the 
cattle  began  to  be  so  restless  that  it  was  impossible  to  manage 
them.  They  set  one  young  lass  after  the  other  to  watch  them,  but 
there  was  no  peace  to  be  had  till  they  got  a  young  woman  who 
had  just  been  engaged.  The  cattle  suddenly  became  quiet,  and  it 
was  no  trouble  to  look  after  them  after  that  time.  She  was  there 
all  by  herself  with  the  exception  of  a  dog.  She  was  sitting  in  the 
dairy  one  afternoon,  when  her  sweetheart,  as  she  thought,  came  in 
and  sat  alongside  her,  and  began  speaking  about  their  wedding. 
But  she  sat  quite  silent  and  made  no  answer,  for  she  began  to  feel 
so  strange.  By  and  by  more  people  came  in,  and  they  began  to 
lay  the  table  and  put  all  sorts  of  dishes  and  silver  plate  on  it. 
The  bridesmaids  brought  in  the  bridal  crown,  the  silver  ornaments, 
and  a  fine  wedding  gown,  which  they  put  on  her.  They  put  the 
crown  on  her  head,  as  was  usual  at  that  time,  and  on  her  fingers 
they  put  rings. 

"  She  thought  she  knew  the  people  who  were  there  ;  they  were 
farmers'  wives,  and  some  girls  of  her  own  age  were  there  also.  But 
the  dog  must  have  noticed  that  there  was  something  wrong.  He 
set  off  for  Melbustad,  and  began  whining  and  barking,  and  gave 
them  no  peace  till  they  showed  signs  to  go  back  with  him. 

"  Her  sweetheart  took  his  rifle  and  set  out  for  the  dairy ;  when 
he  came  to  the  slope  in  front  of  it,  he  saw  a  number  of  saddled 
horses  about  the  place.  He  stole  up  to  the  house  and  looked 
through  the  door,  which  was  ajar,  and  he  saw  all  the  people  who 
were  sitting  in  the  room.  He  soon  guessed  that  it  was  all  witch- 
craft, and  so  he  fired  his  gun  over  the  roof  of  the  dairy.  The  next 
moment  the  door  flew  wide  open,  and  a  number  of  balls  of  worsted 
the  one  bigger  than  the  other,  came  rolling  out  of  the  door  between 
his  legs.  When  he  went  in  he  found  his  sweetheart  in  her  wedding- 
dress,  and  with  crown  on  ;  all  she  wanted  was  a  ring  on  her  little 
fincrer. 


MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES.  127 

"  '  But,  good  heavens,  what  does  all  this  mean  ? '  he  asked,  and 
looked  round.  All  the  silver  plate  was  yet  on  the  table,  but  all  the 
fine  dishes  had  turned  to  moss  and  mushrooms,  dirt  and  toads, 
frogs,  and  all  such  things. 

"  '  What's  the  meaning  of  all  this  ? '  he  repeated.  '  You  are 
sitting  here  dressed  like  a  bride.' 

"  '  How  can  you  ask  such  a  question  ? '  said  she.  '  You  have 
been  sitting  here  and  talking  to  me  about  the  wedding  all  the 
afternoon.' 

"  '  You  are  mistaken  ;  I  only  came  this  minute,'  he  said.  '  But 
it  must  have  been  some  one  who  had  taken  my  appearance.' 

"  She  then  began  to  come  back  to  her  senses  ;  but  she  was 
not  quite  herself  for  some  time  afterwards.  She  told  him  that 
she  thought  she  had  plainly  seen  him  and  their  relations  and 
neighbours  amorgst  the  people  who  were  there.  He  took  her 
with  him  home  at  once,  and  that  there  should  come  no  more 
witchery  to  her,  they  were  married  there  and  then  while  she  still 
was  dressed  in  the  finery  of  the  fairies.  The  crown  and  the 
dress  were  hung  up  at  Melbustad,  and  they  say  they  are  there  to 
this  day." 

"  But  I  have  heard  that  this  happened  in  Valders,  Bertha," 
said  I. 

"No,  this  happened  exactly  as  I  told  you  in  Halland,"  she 
answered,  "  but  when  I  was  at  home,  I  heard  some  one  from  Valders 
speak  of  something  which  had  taken  place  there,  and  which  I'll 
now  tell  you." 

"  On  one  of  the  farms  in  Valders  there  was  a  girl  called  Barbro, 
and  she  was  once  up  at  a  dairy.  She  was  sitting  one  day  at  her 
work  when  she  suddenly  heard  some  one  shouting  over  in  a  hill  : 

"  '  King  Haaken,  King  Haaken  ! ' 

"  '  Yes,'  answered  King  Haakeu,  till  it  sounded  all  over  the  hills. 

"  '  King  Haaken,  my  son,  will  you  get  married  ? '  it  cried  again  in 
the  hill. 

" '  Yes,  that  I  will,'  said  King  Haaken,  '  if  I  can  have  Barbro  in 
the  dairy  over  yonder  ! ' 

"  '  Yes,  yes,  we'll  see  to  that,'  Barbro  heard  the  voice  in  the  hill 


128  MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 

answer,  and  she  got  so  frightened  that  she  did  not  know  what  to 
do. 

"  Before  long  a  lot  of  people  came  into  the  room,  the  one  after  the 
other,  carrying  food  and  drink  on  silver  dishes  and  in  silver  jugs, 
wedding  dress,  with  crown  and  brooches  and  such  finery.  They 
commenced  laying  the  table  and  some  began  dressing  her  for  the 
wedding.  She  felt,  as  if  she  could  not  resist  them. 

"  This  girl  also  had  a  sweetheart  and  he  happened  to  be  out 
shooting  on  the  mountain.  But  suddenly  such  a  fear  came  over 
him  that  he  seemed  as  if  he  must  go  to  the  dairy.  \\  hen  he  came 
in  sight  of  the  house,  he  saw  a  number  of  black  horses  with  old- 
fashioned  saddles  and  harness  about,  and  he  soon  guessed  what  was 
going  on.  He  stole  round  to  a  small  window  and  looked  in, 
when  he  saw  the  whole  company  ;  King  Haaken  was  the  bride- 
groom and  the  bride  was  ready  dressed. 

" '  I  don't  think  there  is  anything  else  to  be  done  now  except  to 
turn  her  eyes,'  said  one  of  the  bridesmaids. 

"  The  lad  thought  it  was  high  time  to  put  a  stop  to  it  all,  and  he 
took  a  silver-button,  which  had  come  down  to  him,  put  it  in  his 
rifle  and  fired  right  at  King  Haaken,  who  fell.  But  the  wedding- 
guests  rushed  out  taking  the  body  of  King  Haaken  with  them. 
The  food  had  turned  into  moss,  and  toads,  which  jumped  away 
and  hid  themselves.  The  only  things  which  were  left  were  the 
wedding  dress  and  a  silver  dish  and  they  are  still  to  be  seen  at 
the  farm." 

Mother  Bertha  told  me  many  other  stories  till  we  heard  the 
noise  of  the  sledge  in  the  snow  and  the  horses  panting  outside  the 
door.  I  put  some  coins  into  Bertha's  hand  for  her  advice  and 
attention,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  was  at  home. 

A  bandage  of  vinegar  and  cold  water  soon  put  my  foot  right ; 
but  when  Mother  Bertha  one  day  came  into  the  kitchen  and  was 
appropriating  to  herself  all  the  honour  of  my  rapid  cure  by  her 
art,  the  children  could  no  longer  restrain  themselves.  They 
shouted  into  her  ears  the  incantation  verse  which  I  had  taught 
them  and  asked  her  if  she  believed  that  a  drop  of  brandy  and  her 
nonsense  could  cure  a  sprain.  This  made  her  rather  suspicious  and 


MOTHER  BERTHA'S  STORIES. 


although  she  told  me  many  a  wonderful  story  after  that  time  I 
never  succeeded  with  all  my  cunning  and  persuasion  in  bringing 
Bertha  Tuppenhaug  to  lift  a  corner  of  that  icy  veil  in  which  she 
shrouded  the  mysteries  of  her  incantations,  lead  melting,  miraculous 
cures,  and  healing  by  magic. 


THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL. 


ONCE  upon  a  time,  in  those  days  when  the  saints  used  to  wander 
about  on  earth,  two  of  them  came  to  a  smith.  He  had  made  a 
bargain  with  the  devil  that  he  should  belong  to  him  after  seven 
years,  if  he  during  that  time  was  to  be  the  master  over  all  masters 
in  his  profession.  Both  he  and  the  devil  had  put  their  names  to 
this  contract.  So  the  smith  wrote  with  great  letters  over  the 
smithy  door  :  "  Here  lives  the  master  over  all  masters." 

When  the  two  saints  saw  this,  they  went  in  to  the  smith,  and 
the  elder  asked  him  :  "  Who  are  you  ? " — "  Read  what  there's 
written  over  the  door,"  answered  the  smith  ;  "  but  perhaps  you 


THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL.  133 

cannot  read  writing,  so  you  had  better  wait  till  some  one  comes  by 
who  can  help  you."  Before  the  saint  could  answer  him  a  man 
came  with  his  horse,  which  he  asked  the  smith  to  shoe  for  him. 
"  Will  you  let  me  shoe  it  ?  "  asked  the  saint.  "  You  may  try,"  said 
the  smith  ;  "  you  cannot  do  it  so  badly  but  I  shall  be  able  to  put  it 
right  again."  The  saint  went  out  and  took  one  leg  off  the  horse 
and  put  it  in  the  fire  on  the  forge  and  made  the  shoe  red  hot ;  he 
then  sharpened  the  points,  clenched  the  nails,  and  put  the  leg  back 
in  its  place  again.  When  he  had  done  with  that  leg,  he  took  the 
other  fore-leg,  and  did  the  same  with  it  ;  and  when  he  had  put 
that  in  its  place,  he  took  the  hind-legs,  first  the  right  and  then  the 
left,  put  them  in  the  fire,  made  the  shoes  red  hot,  sharpened  the 
points  and  clenched  the  nails,  and  then  he  put  them  on  the  horse 
again.  The  smith  stood  and  looked  on  all  the  while.  "  You  are 
not  such  a  bad  smith  after  all,"  he  said.  "  Ah,  you  think  so,"  said 
the  saint. 

Just  then  the  smith's  mother  came  across  to  the  smithy  and 
asked  him  to  come  home  and  eat  his  dinner;  she  was  very  old, 
and  had  a  crooked  back  and  big  wrinkles  in  her  face,  and  she  was 
scarcely  able  to  walk. 

"  Take  notice  of  what  you  now  will  see,"  said  the  saint.  He 
took  the  woman,  put  her  in  the  fire,  and  forged  a  young,  lovely 
maiden  out  of  her.  "  I  say  what  I  said  before,"  said  the  smith, 
"  you  are  not  at  all  a  bad  smith.  You  will  find  over  my  door : 
'  Here  lives  the  master  over  all  masters,'  but  for  all  that,  I  now  see 
that  one  learns  as  long  as  he  lives" — and  with  that  he  went  home 
and  ate  his  dinner. 

As  soon  as  he  came  back  to  the  smithy,  a  man  came  riding,  who 
wanted  to  have  his  horse  shod.  "  I  shall  soon  do  that  for  you," 
said  the  smith  ;  "  I  have  just  learned  a  new  way  to  shoe  horses,  and 
a  very  good  one  it  is  when  the  days  are  short ; "  and  so  he  com- 
menced cutting  and  breaking  away  at  the  horse's  legs,  till  he  got 
them  all  off — "  for  I  don't  see  the  use  of  going  forwards  and  back- 
wards with  one  at  a  time,"  he  said — and  put  the  legs  in  the  fire  as 
he  had  seen  the  saint  do.  He  put  plenty  of  coals  on,  and  let  his 


134  THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL. 


boy  work  the  bellows  smartly  ;  but  it  went  as  one  might  expect — 
the  legs  were  burnt  up,  and  the  smith  had  to  pay  for  the  horse. 
This  was  not  exactly  to  his  liking,  but  at  that  moment  a  poor  old 
woman,  who  went  about  begging,  came  past,  and  he  thought  if 
one  thing  does  not  succeed  another  may.  So  he  took  the  old 
woman  and  put  her  in  the  fire,  and  although  she  cried  and  begged 
for  her  life,  it  was  of  no  use.  "You  don't  know  what  is  good  for 
you,  although  you  are  so  old,"  said  the  smith;  "I  will  make  a 
young  woman  of  you  in  half  a  minute,  and  I  shan't  charge  as  much 
as  a  penny  for  the  job." 

It  fared  no  better  with  v^e  poor  old  woman  than  with  the  horse's 
legs.  Just  then  the  saints  came  round  again  to  him.  "That  was 
ill  done,"  said  the  saint.  "  Oh,  I  don't  think  there  are  many  who 
will  be  asking  after  her,"  answered  the  smith ;  "  but  it  is  a  great 
shame  that  the  devil  doesn't  hold  to  what  is  written  over  the 
door." — "  If  you  might  have  three  wishes  from  me,"  said  the  saint, 
"what  would  you  wish  for  yourself?"  "Try  me,"  answered  the 
smith,  "and  you  will  get  to  know." 

The  saint  then  gave  him  three  wishes.  "  First  of  all,  I  wish 
that  when  I  ask  anybody  to  climb  up  in  the  pear-tree  just  outside 
the  smithy,  he  must  sit  there  till  I  myself  ask  him  to  come  down 
again,"  said  the  smith.  "  Secondly,  I  wish  that  any  one  whom  I 
ask  to  sit  down  in  the  arm-chair  in  the  smithy  there,  must  remain 
in  it  till  I  myself  ask  him  to  get  up  ;  and,  last  of  all,  I  wish  that  if  I 
ask  anybody  to  creep  into  the  steel-ring  purse  which  I  have  in  my 
pocket,  he  must  remain  there  till  I  give  him  leave  to  creep  out 
again." 

"  You  have  wished  like  a  foolish  man,"  said  the  other  saint. 
"  First  of  all  you  should  have  wished  for  leave  to  get  into  paradise." 
— "  I  dared  not  ask  for  that,"  said  the  smith,  and  bade  the  saints 
farewell. 

Well,  days  came  and  days  passed,  and  when  the  time  was  up, 
the  devil  came  to  fetch  the  smith  according  to  the  agreement. 

"  Are  you  ready  now  ? "  he  said,  as  he  put  his  nose  in  at  the  door 
of  the  smithy.  "  Well,  yes  ;  but  I  want  to  finish  the  head  of  this 


THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL.  135 

nail  first,"  said  the  smith  ;  "just  climb  up  into  the  pear-tree  and 
take  a  pear.  You  must  be  both  hungry  and  thirsty  after  your 
journey."  The  devil  thanked  him  for  the  kind  offer,  and  climbed 
up  into  the  tree. 

"  Now  that  I  think  of  it,"  said  the  smith,  "  I  don't  think  I  shall 
get  this  head  finished  for  the  next  four  years,  for  this  iron  is  so 
terribly  hard.  You  can't  come  down  in  that  time,  but  you  may  sit 
there  and  rest  yourself."  The  devil  begged  and  prayed  that  he 
might  get  leave  to  come  down  again,  but  all  in  vain.  At  last  he 
had  to  promise  that  he  would  not  come  back  till  the  four  years 
were  out,  and  so  the  smith  sa:d  :  "  Well,  on  that  condition  you  may 
come  down." 

When  the  time  was  up,  the  devil  came  again  to  fetch  the  smith. 
"  You  are  ready  now,  I  suppose  ? "  he  said.  "  I  think  you  have  had 
time  to  finish  the  head  of  that  nail  by  this."  "  Yes,  I  have  finished 
the  head,  of  course,"  answered  the  smith ;  "  but  still  you  have  come 
a  trifle  too  early,  because  I  have  not  sharpened  the  point  yet ;  such 
hard  iron  I  have  never  in  my  life  worked  at  before.  While  I 
hammer  down  the  point  of  the  nail,  you  might  as  well  sit  down  in 
my  arm-chair  and  rest  yourself,  for  I  suppose  you  are  pretty  tired." 

The  devil  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  and  sat  down  in  the 
arm-chair  ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  sat  down  for  a  good  rest,  than 
the  smith  said,  that  taking  everything  into  consideration,  he  could 
not  get  the  point  properly  sharpened  in  less  than  four  years.  The 
devil  at  first  begged  very  prettily  to  be  let  out  of  the  chair,  and 
after  a  time  he  grew  angry  and  began  to  threaten  ;  but  the  smith 
excused  himself  the  best  way  he  could,  and  said  it  was  all  the  fault 
of  the  iron,  for  it  was  really  so  terribly  hard,  and  gave  the  devil 
the  consolation  that  he  sat  very  comfortably  in  the  arm-chair, 
and  that  he  in  four  years'  time  would  let  him  out  exactly  to 
the  minute.  There  was  no  other  help  for  it ;  the  devil  had  to 
promise  that  he  would  not  come  to  fetch  the  smith  till  the  four 
years  were  out,  and  so  the  smith  said  :  "  Well,  on  that  condition 
you  may  go,"  and  away  the  devil  went  as  fast  as  he  could. 

In   four  years'  time  the  devil  came  again  to  fetch  the  smith. 


136  THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL. 

"  You  are  ready  now,  of  course  ?  "  said  the  devil,  as  he  put  his  nose 
in  at  the  door  of  the  smithy.  "  Ready,  quite  ready,"  answered 
the  smith ;  "  we  can  start  when  you  like.  But  there  is  one  thing," 
he  continued,  "  which  I  have  been  standing  here  and  thinking 
about  for  a  long  time,  to  ask  you  about.  Is  it  true,  what  they  say, 
that  the  devil  can  make  himself  as  small  as  he  likes  ?  " — "  Yes,  of 
course,"  answered  the  devil. — "  Ah,  perhaps  you  could  do  me  the 
favour  to  creep  into  this  s^eel-ring  purse  and  see  if  there  are  any 
holes  at  the  bottom,"  said  the  smith  ;  "  I  am  so  afraid  I  shall  lose 
my  money  for  the  journey." — "Oh,  yes,  with  pleasure,"  said  the 
devil,  and  made  himself  small  and  crept  into  the  purse.  But  he 
had  scarcely  got  inside  when  the  smith  closed  the  purse. 

"  It  is  safe  and  sound  everywhere,"  said  the  devil  inside  the 
purse. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  that,"  answered  the  smith ;  "  but 
it  is  better  to  be  prudent  beforehand  than  wise  afterwards.  I 
think  I  will  weld  the  joints  a  little  better  together,  just  for 
safety's  sake  you  know,"  and  with  that  he  put  the  purse  in  the 
fire  and  made  it  red  hot. 

"  Oh  dear  !  oh  dear  !  "  cried  the  devil  ;  "  are  you  mad  ?  Don't 
you  know  I  am  inside  the  purse  ? " 

"Yes,  but  I  can't  help  you,"  said  the  smith.  "There's  an  old 
saying,  that  'one  must  strike  while  the  iron  is  hot,'"  and  so  he 
took  his  big  sledge-hammer,  put  the  purse  on  the  anvil,  and 
hammered  away  as  hard  as  he  could. 

"  Oh  dear !  oh  dear  !  oh  dear ! "  screamed  the  devil  inside  the 
purse.  "  Dear  friend,  do  let  me  out  and  I  shall  never  come  back 
again." 

"  Well,  I  think  the  joints  are  pretty  well  welded  together  now," 
said  the  smith,  "  so  now  you  may  come  out  again."  With  this  he 
opened  the  purse,  and  the  devil  rushed  away  in  such  a  hurry  that 
he  did  not  even  look  behind  him. 

Some  time  after  this,  the  smith  began  thinking  that  he  had  per- 
haps done  a  foolish  thing  by  making  the  devil  his  enemy.  "  For 
suppose  the  saints  above  won't  have  me,"  he  said,  "  I  may  run  the 


THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL.  139 


risk  of  being  homelesss  altogether,  since  I  have  fallen  out  with  the 
old  man  down  below."  He  thought  it  would  be  as  well  to  try  and 
get  into  one  of  the  two  places  at  once,  better  early  than  late  ;  and 
so  he  took  his  sledge-hammer  on  his  shoulder  and  started.  When 
he  had  gone  some  distance,  he  came  to  a  place  where  the  road 
divides  into  two — one  leading  to  paradise,  and  the  other  to  the 
devil.  Just  at  this  point  he  overtook  a  tailor,  who  was  hurrying 
along  with  his  smoothing-iron  in  his  hand.  "  Good  day,"  said  the 
smith,  "  where  are  you  off  to  ?  " — "  To  paradise,  if  I  can  get  in 
there,"  answered  the  tailor;  "and  you?" — "Well,  I  shan't  have 
the  pleasure  of  your  company  for  long  then,"  answered  the  smith  ; 
"  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  try  the  other  place  first,  because  I 
happen  to  know  the  old  man  a  little  already."  So  they  bade  one 
another  "  Farewell,"  and  each  went  his  way. 

But  the  smith  was  a  strong,  powerful  man,  and  he  walked  much 
faster  than  the  tailor,  so  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  get  to  his 
destination.  He  told  the  gatekeeper  to  go  and  tell  his  master  that 
there  was  some  one  outside  who  wished  to  speak  with  him. 

"  Go  and  ask  who  he  is,"  said  the  devil  to  the  gatekeeper,  who 
went  out  and  asked  the  smith. 

"  Give  your  master  my  compliments,  and  tell  him  that  it  is  the 
smith  who  has-  that  purse  which  he  knows  of,"  said  the  smith , 
"and  just  ask  him  kindly  to  let  me  in  at  once,  for  I  have  been 
working  in  the  smithy  till  dinner-time,  and  since  I  have  walked  all 
the  way." 

When  the  devil  heard  this,  he  ordered  the  gatekeeper  to  lock  all 
the  nine  locks  on  the  gate — "  and  put  on  an  extra  padlock  as  well," 
said  the  devil,  "  for  if  he  comes  inside,  he  will  upset  the  place 
altogether." — "  Well,  there  is  no  shelter  to  be  got  here,  I  see,"  said 
the  smith,  when  he  heard  them  locking  the  gate  more  securely ; 
"  I  had  better  try  my  luck  in  paradise."  And  with  that  he  turned 
round  and  went  back  till  he  reached  the  cross  road.  There  he 
followed  the  road  which  the  tailor  had  taken.  As  he  was  rather 
angry  at  having  had  to  walk  all  the  way  to  the  devil's  and  back  for 
no  good,  he  hurried  on  as  fast  as  he  could  and  reached  the  gate  of 


140 


THE  SMITH  AND  THE  DEVIL. 


paradise  just  as  St.  Peter  opened  it  a  little,  that  the  thin,  skinny 
tailor  might  slip  in.  The  smith  was  still  six  or  seven  paces  from 
the  gate.  "  I  think  it's  best  to  make  haste  now,"  said  the  smith. 
He  took  the  sledge-hammer  and  hurled  it  into  the  opening  of  the 
door  just  as  the  tailor  got  inside. 

If  the  smith  didn't  get  in  through  the  opening  that  time,  I  don't 
know  what  has  become  of  him  since. 


THE  THREE    BILLY-GOATS   WHO    WENT    UP 
INTO  THE   HILLS  TO  GET  FAT. 

THERE  were  once  upon  a  time  three  Billy-goats,  who  were 
going  up  into  the  hills  to  get  fat.  On  the  way  there  was  a  bridge 
over  a  torrent  which  they  had  to  cross.  Under  the  bridge  lived  a 
big>  ugly  troll,  with  eyes  as  big  as  saucers,  and  a  nose  as  long  as 
a  rake-handle. 

First  of  all  came  the  youngest  Billy-goat,  and  was  going  over 
the  bridge.  Trip  trap,  trip  trap,  went  the  bridge. — "  Who  is  that 


142  THE  THREE  BILLY-GOATS. 

tripping  over  my  bridge  ?  "  shouted  the  troll. — "  Oh  !  it's  only  the 
smallest  Billy-goat ;  I'm  going  up  into  the  hills  to  get  fat,"  said 
the  goat;  he  had  such  a  small  voice. — "  I'm  coming  to  take  you  !" 
said  the  troll. — "  Oh  no  !  please  don't  take  me,  for  I  am  so  little. 
Wait  a  while  till  the  next  Billy-goat  comes ;  he  is  much  bigger." 
— "  Very  well ! "  said  the  troll. 

In  a  little  while  came  the  next  Billy-goat,  and  was  going  over 
the  bridge.  Trip  trap,  trip  trap,  trip  trap  went  the  bridge. — 
"Who  is  that  tripping  over  my  bridge?"  shouted  the  troll. — "Oh, 
it's  only  the  second  B:lly-goat;  I'm  going  up  into  the  hills  to  get 
fat,"  said  the  goat ;  he  hadn't  such  a  small  voice  as  the  first  one. 
— "  I'm  coming  to  take  you,"  said  the  troll.  — "  Oh  no  !  please 
don't  take  me,  but  wait  till  the  big  Billy-goat  comes ;  he  is  much 
bigger." — "  Very  well  then  !  "  said  the  troll. 

Just  then  came  the  big  Billy-goat.  Trip  trap,  trip  trap,  trip 
trap  went  the  bridge.  He  was  so  heavy  that  the  bridge  creaked 
and  groaned  under  him. — "  Who  is  that  tramping  over  my  bridge  ? " 
shouted  the  troll. — "  It's  the  big  Billy-goat  !  "  said  the  goat  ;  he 
had  an  awful  hoarse  voice. — "  I'm  coming  to  take  you,"  screamed 
the  troll. 

"  Come  on,  and  blinded  you  shall  reel 
From  my  two  spears,  whose  points  are  steel. 
Like  grain  between  two  granite  stones 
I'll  crush  your  marrow  and  your  bones  ! " 

said  the  big  Billy-goat,  and  flew  straight  at  the  troll  and  poked 
his  eyes  out,  crushed  him,  bones  and  all,  to  pieces,  and  pushed  him 
out  into  the  torrent,  and  then  he  went  up  into  the  hills.  There  the 
Billy-goats  got  so  fat,  that  they  were  scarcely  able  to  walk  home 
again,  and  if  the  fat  hasn't  gone  off  them,  they  are  still  as  fat  as 
ever.  And  snip,  snap,  snout,  here  my  tale  is  out. 


PETER   GYNT. 


IN  the  olden  days  there  lived  in  Kvam  a  hunter,  whose  name  was 
Peter  Gynt,  and  who  was  always  roaming  about  in  the  mountains 
after  bears  and  elks,  for  in  those  days  there  were  more  forests  on 
the  mountains  than  there  are  now,  and  consequently  plenty  of  wild 
beasts.  One  evening  late  in  the  autumn,  long  after  the  cattle  had 
left  the  mountains,  Peter  set  out  on  one  of  his  usual  expeditions. 
All  the  dairy-maids  had  also  gone  away,  except  the  three  girls  at 
the  Vala  dairy.  When  Peter  came  up  towards  Hovring,  where  he 
intended  to  stay  for  the  night  in  a  deserted  dairy,  it  was  -so  dark 
that  he  could  scarcely  see  an  arm's  length  before  him.  The  dogs 


146  PETER  GYNT. 


began  barking  violently,  and  it  was  altogether  very  dismal  and 
unpleasant.  All  of  a  sudden  he  ran  against  something,  and  when 
he  put  his  hand  out,  he  felt  it  was  cold  and  slippery  and  very 
big.  As  he  didn't  think  he  had  gone  off  the  road,  he  had  no 
idea  of  what  this  something  could  be,  but  unpleasant  it  was  at 
any  rate. 

"  Who  is  it  ? "  asked  Peter,  for  he  could  now  feel  it  was  moving. 

"  Oh,  it's  Humpy,"  was  the  answer. 

Peter  was  no  wiser  for  this,  but  walked  on  one  side  for  some 
distance,  thinking  that  so  he  would  be  able  to  pass  the  mysterious 
presence.  But  he  ran  against  something  again,  and  when  he  put 
his  hand  out  he  felt  it  was  very  big,  cold,  and  slippery. 

"  Who  is  it  ? "  asked  Peter  Gynt. 

"Oh,  it's  Humpy,"  was  the  answer  again. 

"Well,  you'll  have  to  let  me  pass,  whether  you  are  Humpy  or 
not,"  said  Peter,  for  he  guessed  now  that  he  was  walking  round  in 
a  ring,  and  that  the  monster  had  circled  itself  round  the  dairy. 
Just  then  the  monster  shifted  itself  a  little,  and  Peter  got  past  and 
soon  found  the  house.  When  he  came  inside  he  found  it  was 
no  lighter  in  there  than  outside.  He  was  feeling  his  way  about 
along  the  wall  to  put  his  gun  away  and  hang  his  bag  up,  but  while 
he  was  groping  about  in  this  way,  he  felt  again  something  cold, 
big,  and  slippery.  • 

"  Who  is  it  ? "  shouted  Peter. 

"  Oh,  it's  the  big  Humpy,"  was  the  answer.  Wherever  he  put 
his  hands  out  or  tried  to  get  past  he  ran  against  the  monster. 

"  It's  not  very  pleasant  to  be  here,  I  am  sure,"  thought  Peter, 
"since  this  Humpy  is  both  outside  and  inside,  but  I'll  try  if  I  can't 
shunt  this  intruder  out  of  my  way." 

So  he  took  his  gun  and  went  outside,  feeling  his  way  carefully, 
till  he  found  what  he  thought  was  the  head  of  the  monster,  which 
he  felt  sure  was  a  monster  troll. 

"  What  are  you,  and  who  are  you  ? "  asked  Peter. 

"  Oh,  I  am  the  big  Humpy  from  Etnedale,"  said  the  troll.  Peter 
did  not  lose  a  moment,  but  fired  three  shots  right  into  the  troll's 
head. 


PETER  GYNT.  147 


"  Fire  another,"  said  the  troll.  But  Peter  knew  better ;  if  he 
had  fired  another  shot,  the  bullet  would  have  rebounded  against 
himself. 

Both  Peter  and  the  dogs  then  commenced  dragging  the  troll  out 
of  the  house,  so  that  they  might  come  inside  and  make  themselves 
comfortable.  Whilst  he  .was  so  employed  he  heard  jeers  and 
laughter  in  the  hills  round  about. 

"  Peter  dragged  a  bit,  but  the  doggies  dragged  more,"  said  a 
voice. 

Next  morning  he  went  out  stalking.  When  he  came  in  between 
the  hills,  he  saw  a  lassie,  who  was  calling  some  sheep  up  a  hill-side. 
But  when  he  came  up  to  the  place,  she  was  gone  and  the  sheep 
too,  and  he  saw  nothing  but  a  pack  of  bears. 

"  Well,  I  never  saw  bears  in  a  pack  before,"  said  Peter  to  him- 
self. When  he  went  nearer,  they  had  all  disappeared,  except  one. 

"  Look  after  your  pig, 
For  Peter  Gynt  is  out 
Wit  hhis  gun  so  big," 

shouted  a  voice  over  in  the  hill. 

"  Ah,  he  can't  hurt  my  pig ;  he  hasn't  washed  himself  to-day," 
said  another  voice  in  the  hill.  Peter  washed  his  hands  with  some 
water  he  had  with  him.  He  fired,  and  shot  the  bear.  Then  he 
heard  more  jeers  and  laughter  in  the  hill. 

''You  should  have  looked  after  your  pig  !"  cried  a  voice. 

"  I  forgot  he  carried  water  with  him,"  answered  another. 

Peter  skinned  the  bear  and  buried  the  carcase.  On  his  way 
home  he  met  a  fox. 

"  Look  at  my  lamb  !     How  fat  it  is,"  said  a  voice  in  a  hill. 

"  Look  at  Peter,  he  is  lifting  that  gun  of  his,"  said  another  voice, 
just  as  Peter  put  his  gun  up  and  shot  the  fox.  He  skinned  the 
fox  also,  and  took  the  skin  with  him.  When  he  came  to  the  dairy, 
he  put  both  the  head  of  the  fox  and  the  bear  on  the  wall  outside 
the  house,  with  their  jaws  wide  open.  So  he  lighted  a  fire  and  put 
a  pot  on  to  boil  some  soup,  but  the  chimney  smoked  so  terribly 
that  he  could  scarcely  keep  his  eyes  open,  and  had  therefore  to 

L  2 


148  PETER  GYNT. 


open  a  small  window.  Some  time  after  a  troll  came  and  poked 
his  nose  in  ;  the  nose  was  so  long  that  it  reached  across  the  room 
to  the  fireplace. 

"  Here  is  a  proper  nose,  if  you  like,"  said  the  troll. 

"  And  here  is  proper  soup  !  You  never  tasted  the  like  ; "  and 
with  that  he  poured  the  boiling  soup  over  the  troll's  nose.  The 
troll  ran  away  wailing  and  crying,  but  in  all  the  hills  around  they 
were  jeering  and  laughing,  and  the  voices  shouted  : 

"  Nosey  stew  !     Nosey  stew  ! " 

It  was  now  quiet  for  some  time.  Shortly  Peter  heard  a  great 
noise  and  bustle  outside  the  house.  He  looked  out,  and  saw  a 
big  carriage  drawn  by  bears.  They  were  carting  away  the  big 
monster  into  the  mountain.  Suddenly  a  bucket  of  water  was 
thrown  down  the  chimney ;  the  fire  was  put  out,  and  Peter  sat  all 
in  the  dark.  Then  a  laughing  and  chuckling  commenced  in  all 
corners  of  the  room,  and  a  voice  said  : — 

"  Now  Peter  is  no  better  off  than  the  girls  at  Vala." 

So  Peter  made  the  fire  again,  shut  up  the  dairy,  and  set  off 
for  the  Vala  dairy,  taking  the  dogs  with  him.  When  he  had  gone 
some  distance  he  saw  such  a  glare  of  light  in  the  direction  of 
the  dairy  that  it  seemed  to  him  the  house  must  be  on  fire.  Just 
then  he  came  across  some  wolves.  Some  of  these  he  shot,  and 
some  his  dogs  killed.  But  when  he  came  to  the  dairy  it  was  all 
dark  there;  there  was  no  sign  of  any  fire.  There  were  three 
strangers  in  the  room  amusing  themselves  with  the  dairy-maids, 
and  one  outside  the  door.  They  were  four  hill-trolls,  and  their 
names  were  Gust,  Tron,  Tjostol,  and  Rolf.  Gust  was  standing 
outside  keeping  watch,  while  the  others  were  inside  courting  the 
girls.  Peter  fired  at  Gust,  but  missed  him.  But  the  troll  ran  away 
frightened,  and  when  Peter  came  inside  he  found  the  trolls  flirting 
with  the  girls  more  desperately  than  ever.  Two  of  them  were 
terribly  frightened  and  were  saying  their  prayers,  but  the  third, 
who  was  called  Mad  Kari,  wasn't  a  bit  afraid.  They  might  come 
there  for  all  she  cared ;  she  would  like  to  see  what  sort  of  fellows 
they  were.  But  when  the  trolls  found  that  Peter  was  in  the  room 
they  began  whining,  and  told  Rolf  to  get  a  light.  And  then  the 


PETER  GYNT.  149 


dogs  rushed  at  Tjostol  and  knocked  him  over  on  his  back  into  the 
burning  embers  of  the  fire,  so  the  sparks  flew  about  him. 

"Did  you  see  any  of  my  snakes  about,  Peter?"  asked  Tron — 
that  was  what  he  called  the  wolves. 

"  I'll  send  you  the  same  way  as  the  snakes,"  said  Peter,  and  fired 
a  shot  at  him,  and  then  he  killed  Tjostol  with  the  butt-end  of  his 
rifle.  Rolf  had  fled  through  the  chimney. 

So  when  he  had  cleared  all  the  trolls  out,  the  girls  packed  up 
their  things,  and  Peter  accompanied  them  home.  They  dared  not 
stay  any  longer  up  on  the  hills. 

Shortly  before  Christmas,  Peter  set  out  again  on  another  expe- 
dition. He  had  heard  of  a  farm  on  Dovrefell  which  was  invaded  by 
such  a  number  of  trolls  every  Christmas-eve  that  the  people  on  the 
farm  had  to  move  out,  and  get  shelter  at  some  of  their  neighbours. 
He  was  anxious  to  go  there,  for  he  had  a  great  fancy  to  come  across 
the  trolls  again.  He  dressed  himself  in  some  old  ragged  clothes, 
and  took  a  tame  white  bear,  which  he  had,  with  him,  as  well  as  an 
awl,  some  pitch,  and  twine.  When  he  came  to  the  farm  he  went  in 
and  asked  for  lodgings. 

"  God  help  us  !  "  said  the  farmer  ;  "  we  can't  give  you  any  lodg- 
ings. We  have  to  clear  out  of  the  house  ourselves  soon  and  look 
for  lodgings,  for  every  Christmas-eve  we  have  the  trolls  here." 

But  Peter  thought  he  should  be  able  to  clear  the  trolls  out — he 
had  done  such  a  thing  before  ;  and  then  he  got  leave  to  stay,  and  a 
pig's  skin  into  the  bargain.  The  bear  lay  down  behind  the  fire- 
place, and  Peter  took  out  his  awl,  and  pitch,  and  twine,  and  began 
making  a  big,  big  shoe,  which  it  took  the  whole  pig's  skin  to  make. 
He  put  a  strong  rope  in  for  laces,  that  he  nr'ght  pull  the  shoe  tightly 
together,  and,  finally,  he  armed  himself  with  a  couple  of  hand- 
spikes. 

Shortly  he  heard  the  trolls  coming.  They  had  a  fiddler  with 
them,  and  some  began  dancing,  while  others  fell  to  eating  the 
Christmas  fare  on  the  table — some  fried  bacon,  and  some  fried 
frogs  and  toads,  and  other  nasty  things  which  they  had  brought 
with  them.  During  this  some  of  the  trolls  found  the  shoe  Peter 
had  made.  They  thought  it  must  belong  to  a  very  big  foot.  They 


150  PETER  GYNT. 

all  wanted  to  try  it  on  at  once,  so  they  put  a  foot  each  into  it ;  but 
Peter  made  haste  and  tightened  the  rope,  took  one  of  the  hand- 
spikes and  fastened  the  rope  round  it,  and  got  them  at  last 
securely  tied  up  in  the  shoe. 

Just  then  the  bear  put  his  nose  out  from  behind  the  fireplace, 
where  he  was  lying,  and  smelt  they  were  frying  something. 

"  Will  you  have  a  sausage,  pussy  ?  "  said  one  of  the  trolls,  and 
threw  a  hot  frog  right  into  the  bear's  jaw. 

"  Scratch  them,  pussy  ! "  said  Peter 

The  bear  got  so  angry  that  he  rushed  at  the  trolls  and  scratched 
them  all  over,  while  Peter  took  the  other  handspike  and  hammered 
away  at  them  as  if  he  wanted  to  beat  their  brains  out.  The  trolls 
had  to  clear  out  at  last,  but  Peter  stayed  and  enjoyed  himself  with 
all  the  Christmas  fare  the  whole  week.  After  that  the  trolls  were 
not  heard  of  there  for  many  years. 

Some  years  afterwards,  about  Christmas-time,  the  farmer  was 
out  in  the  forest  cutting  wood  for  the  holidays,  when  a  troll  came 
up  to  him  and  shouted — 

"  Have  you  got  that  big  pussy  of  yours,  yet  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  she  is  at  home  behind  the  fireplace,"  said  the  farmer ; 
"  and  she  has  got  seven  kittens  all  bigger  and  larger  than  herself." 

"  We'll  never  come  to  you  any  more,  then,"  said  the  troll. 


'  ix^if^i         -          V"*f         *r-,  Sf'\  \   <,    '     • 

'  ""SBt, ."  i^^E;      *  /  V^  4,  \f  X-^K  ' '/' 

i  i^j^jC^^ite-T  ''"£'  >i$3>  /M  -^§»  \  ' 


LEGENDS   OF   THE    MILL. 


WHEN  the  world  goes  against  me,  and  it  is  very  seldom  it 
forgets  to  do  so  whenever  there  is  an  opportunity,  I  have  always 
felt  a  relief  in  taking  walks  in  the  open  air  as  an  alleviation  of 
my  portion  of  troubles  and  anxieties.  What  there  was  the  matter 
with  me  on  this  occasion  I  cannot  now  remember,  but  what  I 


152  LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL. 

clearly  recollect  is,  that  one  summer  afternoon  some  years  ago  I 
took  my  fishing-rod  and  strolled  through  the  fields  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Akers  river,  on  my  way  to  the  outlet  of  the  Maridale 
lake. 

The  bright  air,  the  scent  of  the  new-mown  hay,  the  fragrance  of 
the  flowers,  the  singing  of  the  birds,  the  walk  and  the  fresh  breezes 
from  the  river,  greatly  revived  my  spirits.  When  I  came  to  the 
bridge  by  the  outlet,  the  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  ridge  of  the 
hills,  at  one  moment  lighting  up  the  evening  clouds  with  all  his 
lustre,  that  they  for  a  brief  time  might  rejoice  in  their  borrowed 
splendour  and  reflect  themselves  in  the  clear  waters  of  the  lake, 
and  then  for  another  brief  moment  breaking  through  the  clouds 
and  sending  forth  a  ray  of  light,  which  formed  golden  paths  in  the 
dark  pine-forests  of  the  farther  shore.  After  the  hot  day  the 
evening  breeze  carried  a  refreshing  fragrance  from  the  pine-trees, 
and  the  distant  expiring  notes  of  the  cuckoo's  evening  song  dis- 
posed the  mind  to  sadness.  My  eyes  followed  mechanically  the 
drifting  flies  as  they  floated  down  the  river  with  the  stream. 

But  look  1  there  rose  a  silvery  fish  ;  the  line  ran  whizzing  off  the 
reel,  and  when  I  stopped  it  the  rod  stood  bent  into  a  hoop ;  it  must 
be  a  trout  of  about  two  pounds  !  There  was  now  no  time  for  going 
into  raptures  about  the  fragrance  of  the  pine-trees  or  the  cuckoo's 
notes  ;  I  wanted  all  my  presence  of  mind  to  land  the  fish.  The 
current  was  strong  and  the  fish  fought  bravely,  and  as  I  had  no 
landing-net  I  had  to  pay  out  more  line,  and  wind  in  again  twice  or 
thrice,  before  I  could  bring  him  with  the  current  into  a  small  bay, 
where  he  was  successfully  landed  and  found  to  be  a  fine  purple- 
spotted  fish  of  the  size  I  had  supposed. 

I  went  on  trying  for  fish  along  the  western  bank  down  the  river, 
but  only  small  trout  rose  at  my  flies,  and  a  score  was  the  total 
catch. 

When  I  came  to  the  saw-mill  at  Braekke,  the  sky  was  overcast, 
it  was  already  growing  dark,  only  above  the  level  of  the  north- 
western horizon  there  appeared  a  streak  of  light,  which  threw  a 
subdued  glimmer  on  the  tranquil  surface  of  the  mill-pond.  I  went 
out  on  the  timber  boom  and  made  a  few  casts,  but  with  little 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL. 


153 


success.     Not  a  breath  of  air  was  stirring,  the  winds  seemed  to 
have  gone  to  rest.     My  flies  alone  distuibed  the  placid  waters. 

A  half-grown-up  lad,  who  was  standing  behind  me  on  the  bank, 
advised  me  to  "  troll  with  bait" — a  cluster  of  worms  fastened  to 
the  hook,  which  is  dragged  in  jerks  over  the  surface  of  the  water — 
and  offered  to  find  the  bait  for  me.  I  took  his  advice,  and  the 
trial  succeeded  beyond  expectation  ;  a  trout  of  a  pound  weight 
rose  to  the  bait,  and  was  not  without  some  difficulty  landed  on  the 
inconvenient  spot  where  I  was  standing.  But  with  this  the  day's 


sport  seemed  to  be  over ;  no  fish  ruffkd  the  tranquil  pond,  the  bats 
alone,  which  shot  backwards  and  forwards  in  the  air,  produced 
sometimes,  when  they  pounced  down  after  the  insects,  trembling 
ripples  which  quivered  over  the  bright  surface  of  the  water. 

Before  me  was  the  saw-mill;  its  interior  was  lighted  up  by  a 
blazing  fire  on  the  open  hearth.  The  mill  was  in  full  work,  but  its 
wheels,  its  saws  and  levers,  no  longer  appeared  to  be  guided  or 
directed  by  any  human  will  or  hand  ;  it  seemed  to  be  a  mere  toy 
under  the  invisible  power,  and  subject  to  the  whim,  of  the  mill 


154  LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL. 


goblin.  Soon,  however,  human  forms  became  visible.  One  of 
these  went  out  on  the  timber  raft  lying  in  the  mill-pond,  and  with 
an  immense  pitchfork  guided  the  logs  into  the  channel  towards 
the  mill,  setting  the  whole  raft  rocking  with  a  wave-like  motion  ; 
another  rushed  hurriedly  about  with  an  axe  in  his  hand,  shaping 
and  squaring  the  huge  logs,  while  the  loose  chips  and  bits  of  bark 
rushed  into  the  roaring  eddies  below.  From  inside  the  mill  there 
came  a  whizzing,  whirring,  and  clashing  sound,  and  now  and  then  a 
bright  saw-blade  flashed  in  the  air,  as  if  in  combat  with  the  spirits 
of  the  night,  to  cut  the  stumps  and  uneven  ends  off  the  logs. 

Some  cold  gusts  of  a  northerly  wind  coming  down  the  course  of 
the  river  made  me  feel  that  I  was  wet  and  tired,  and  I  decided 
therefore  on  going  into  the  saw-mill  to  get  a  little  rest  by  the  fire. 
I  called  to  the  boy,  who  was  still  standing  on  the  bank,  to  take 
the  fish-basket,  which  I  had  left  behind,  and  follow  me  over  the 
barrier  ;  the  slippery  logs  of  which  this  was  composed  were  rocking 
up  and  down,  and  were  engulfed  in  the  water  at  every  step  I  took. 

By  the  hearth  in  the  mill  sat  an  old  grey-bearded  peasant,  with 
a  red  cap  down  over  his  ears,  whose  presence  I  did  not  at  first 
discern,  as  the  shadow  of  the  hearth  hid  him  from  me.  When  he 
heard  that  I  wished  to  rest  and  warm  myself/ he  at  once  prepared 
a  seat  for  me  on  a  block  by  the  fire. 

"  That's  a  splendid  fish,"  said  the  old  man  as  he  took  the  last 
trout  I  had  caught  in  his  hand;  "and  it's  one  of  the  golden  ones 
too !  It  weighs  almost  two  pounds.  You  have  caught  it  in  the 
mill-pond  here,  I  suppose  ?  " 

On  my  assenting  to  this,  the  old  man,  who  appeared  to  be  an 
ardent  fisherman,  told  me  of  the  large  trout  he  caught  in  the 
neighbourhood  thirty  years  ago,  when  he  came  here  from  Gud- 
brandsdale,  and  made  the  most  heartrending  complaints  of  the 
decrease  of  fish  and  increase  of  saw-dust,  just  as  Sir  Humphry 
Davy  makes  in  his  Salmonia. 

"  The  fish  are  becoming  more  and  more  scarce,"  he  said  in  a 
voice  that  penetrated  clearly  to  me  through  the  noise  in  the  mill ; 
"  such  a  trout  as  that,  small  as  it  is,  is  a  rare  thing  to  catch  now, 
but  the  saw-dust  increases  year  by  year.  You  cannot  wonder  that 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL.  155 

the  fish  doesn't  go  into  the  river,  for  if  he  opens  his  mouth  to  get  a 
mouthful  of  clear  water,  he  gets  his  gills  choked  with  saw-dust  and 
shavings.  Drat  that  saw-dust,  although  I  shouldn't  forget  it  is  the 
mill  that  feeds  me  and  mine,  but  I  get  so  wild  when  I  think  of  the 
big  fellows  I  have  landed  here  in  days  gone  by." 

The  boy  had  in  the  meantime  arrived  with  the  basket,  but  he 
seemed  to  be  ill  at  ease  amid  the  noise  and  commotion  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  mill.  He  stepped  cautiously  over  the  boards,  and  in 
his  face  was  depicted  fear  and  anxiety  at  the  rush  of  the  water 
between  the  wheels  underneath  the  floor  where  he  was  standing. 

"  This  is  an  awful  place  to  be  in,"  he  said.  "  I  wish  I  was  safe 
at  home  again." 

"  Don't  you  belong  to  these  parts  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Where  do  you  come  from  ?  "  asked  the  old  man. 

"  Oh,  I  come  from  the  Old  Town,"  answered  the  lad,  who  all 
the  time  kept  himself  as  close  to  me  as  possible.  "  I  have  been 
over  to  the  clerk  at  Braekke  with  a  letter  for  the  bailiff ;  and  I  am 
so  afraid  to  go  alone  in  the  dark." 

"  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself,  such  a  big  lad  as  you 
are,"  said  the  old  man,  but  added  in  a  comforting  tone,  "  the  moon 
will  be  up  shortly,  and  perhaps  you  may  go  in  company  with  this 
stranger  here." 

I  promised  the  lad  my  company  as  far  as  the  Beier  bridge,  which 
.seemed  to  reassure  him  somewhat.  In  the  meantime  the  saw  was 
stopped  and  two  of  the  men  began  filing  and  sharpening  the  blades, 
which  produced  such  a  piercing  sound  that  it  went  through  bone 
and  marrow.  It  is  very  often  heard  at  night  through  the  rush  of 
the  waters  as  far  as  the  town  below.  It  seemed  to  have  a  very 
unpleasant  effect  upon  the  nerves  of  the  frightened  lad. 

"  Ugh  !  I  dared  not  stay  here  a  night  for  all  the  world  ! "  he 
said,  and  stared  around  him,  as  if  he  expected  to  see  a  mill-goblin 
rise  through  the  floor,  or  a  brownie  in  every  corner. 

"Well,  I  have  been  here  many  a  night,"  said  the  old  man,  "and 
little  reward  have  I  had  for  it." 

"My  mother  has  told  me  that  there  is  witchcraft  and  all  sorts  of 
evil  spirits  in  these  mills,"  remarked  the  lad,  somewhat  alarmed. 


156  LEGENDS  OF   THE   MILL. 

"  I  can't  say  I  have  seen  anything,"  said  the  old  man.  "  The 
water  has,  to  be  sure,  been  shut  off  and  turned  on  at  times,  when  I 
have  had  a  little  nap  in  the  mill  during  the  night,  and  I  have  heard 
noises  in  the  back-shed,  but  I  have  never  seen  anything.  Folks 
don't  believe  in  such  beings  nowadays,"  he  continued,  with  an 
inquiring  look  towards  me,  "  and  therefore  they  daren't  show  them- 
selves. Folks  are  too  sensible  and  too  well  read  in  our  days." 

"  You  are  perhaps  right  there,"  I  said,  for  I  could  perceive  there 
was  a  meaning  in  his  look,  and  I  preferred  that  he  should  tell  me 
some  old  stories  rather  than  I  should  dispute  his  doubts  or  question 
his  belief  that  civilization  was  a  terror  to  brownies  and  other 
supernatural  beings.  "  You  are  right  to  some  extent  in  what  you 
say.  In  the  olden  days  people  had  a  stronger  belief  in  all  kinds 
of  witchery  ;  now  they  pretend  not  to  believe  in  it,  that  they  may 
be  looked  upon  as  sensible  and  educated  people,  as  you  say.  But 
far  up  in  the  country,  in  the  mountain  districts,  we  still  often  hear 
of  fairies  having  been  seen,  of  their  spiriting  people  away  into  the 
mountains,  and  such  like.  Now,  I'll  tell  you  a  story,"  I  continued, 
that  I  might  give  him  some  encouragement  to  start  one  ;  "  I'll  tell 
you  a  story,  which  took  place  somewhere,  but  where  and  when  I 
cannot  exactly  remember. 

"  There  was  a  man  who  had  a  flour-mill,  close  to  a  waterfall,  and 
there  was  a  mill-goblin  in  that  mill.  Whether  the  man  used  to 
give  him  Christmas  cakes  and  beer,  as  they  do  in  some  places,  I 
don't  know,  but  I  should  think  he  didn't,  for  every  time  he  went  to 
grind  his  corn  the  goblin  got  hold  of  the  tub-wheel  and  stopped 
the  mill,  and  he  couldn't  get  any  corn  ground.  The  man  knew 
very  well  it  was  the  goblin  who  had  his  hand  in  this,  and  one 
evening  when  he  went  to  the  mill,  he  took  a  big  pot  full  of  pitch- 
tar  with  him  and  put  it  on  the  fire.  He  turned  the  water  on  to  the 
wheel  and  the  mill  went  for  a  while,  but  suddenly  it  stopped,  as  he 
expected  it  would.  He  seized  a  long  pole  and  struck  at  the  mill- 
goblin  round  about  the  wheel,  but  all  in  vain.  At  last  he  opened 
the  door  which  led  out  to  the  wheel,  and  there  stood  the  mill-goblin 
in  the  door,  gaping.  His  jaw  was  so  big  that  it  reached  from  the 
threshold  up  to  the  1'ntel. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL.  157 

"  '  Have  you  ever  seen  such  a  jaw  ? '  said  the  goblin. 

"  The  man  ran  for  the  pot  and  pitched  the  boiling  tar  into  the 
gaping  jaw,  and  said,  '  Have  you  ever  felt  anything  so  hot  ? ' 

"The  goblin  uttered  a  terrible  shriek,  and  let  go  the  wheel.  He 
has  never  been  seen  or  heard  there  after  that  time,  nor  has  the  mill 
been  stopped  since." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  boy,  who  had  listened  to  my  story  with  a  mix- 
ture of  fear  and  curiosity  ;  "  I  have  heard  my  grandmother  tell  that 
story,  and  she  used  also  to  tell  another  about  a  mill-goblin  some- 
where up  in  the  country,  where  no  one  could  get  anything  ground 
at  the  mill,  it  was  so  bewitched.  But  one  evening  came  a  beggar- 
woman,  who  badly  wanted  to  get  a  little  corn  ground,  and  she 
asked  if  she  could  not  get  leave  to  stay  there  for  the  night  and 
do  it. 

"  '  Oh,  dear  no  ! '  said  the  owner  of  the  mill ;  '  you  can't  stay  there 
at  night ;  neither  you  nor  the  mill  would  have  any  peace  for  the 
goblin.'  But  the  beggar-woman  wanted  so  badly  to  get  her  corn 
ground,  for  she  had  not  a  spoonful  of  meal  to  make  either  soup  or 
porridge  for  the  children  at  home.  Well,  at  last  she  got  leave  to 
go  into  the  mill  and  grind  her  corn  at  night.  When  she  came 
there,  she  made  a  fire  on  the  hearth,  where  a  big  pot  of  tar  was 
hanging.  She  started  the  mill,  and  sat  down  by  the  hearth  with 
her  knitting.  In  a  while  a  girl  came  into  the  mill  and  said  '  Good 
evening '  to  her. 

"  '  Good  evening,'  answered  the  beggar-woman,  and  went  on  with 
her  knitting. 

"  But  very  soon  the  strange  girl  began  raking  the  fire  out  over 
the  hearth,  but  the  beggar-woman  raked  it  together  again. 

"  '  What's  your  name  ?  '  said  the  fairy,  as  you  already  will  have 
guessed  that  the  strange  girl  was. 

" '  My  name  is  Self ! '  answered  the  beggar-woman. 

"  The  girl  thought  that  was  a  strange  name,  and  began  raking 
the  fire  about  again.  This  made  the  beggar-woman  angry,  and 
she  began  scolding  and  raking  the  fire  together.  They  were  thus 
employed  for  some  time,  when  the  beggar-woman,  watching 
her  opportunity,  upset  the  boiling  tar  over  the  girl,  who  began 


158  LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL. 

screaming  and  screeching,  and  as  she  ran  out  of  the  mill,  she 
cried : 

" '  Father,  father,  Self  has  burnt  me ! ' 

"'Well,  if  you  have  burnt  yourself,  you  have  only  yourself  to 
blame,'  said  a  voice  in  the  hill." 

"  It  was  a  good  thing  for  the  v/oman  it  didn't  fare  worse  with 
her,"  said  the  old  man  with  the  grey  beard  ;  "  she  might  have  been 
burnt,  both  she  and  the  mill,  for  where  I  come  from  I  heard  tell  of 
something  similar,  which  happened  there  long  ago.  There  was  a 
farmer  who  had  a  mill  that  was  burnt  down  two  Whitsun-nights  in 
succession.  The  third  year  he  had  a  tailor  staying  with  him  before 
Whitsuntide,  making  new  clothes  for  the  holidays. 

" '  I  wonder  if  anything  will  happen  to  the  mill  this  year  ? '  said 
the  farmer.  '  Perhaps  it  will  burn  to-night  too ! ' 

"  '  No  fear  of  that,'  said  the  tailor  ;  '  give  me  the  key  and  I'll  look 
after  the  mill.' 

"  The  farmer  was  well  pleased  with  that,  and  when  the  evening 
came  the  tailor  got  the  key  and  went  down  into  the  mill.  It  was 
almost  empty,  as  it  had  only  just  been  finished.  He  sat  down  in 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  took  his  chalk  out  and  marked  a  large  ring 
around  him,  and  round  about  this  he  wrote  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and 
then  he  did  not  feel  afraid  even  if  Old  Nick  himself  should  come. 

"Towards  midnight  the  door  flew  suddenly  open,  and  in  rushed 
such  a  number  of  black  cats  that  the  whole  room  swarmed  with 
them.  They  were  not  long  in  getting  a  pot  on  the  fire,  and  then 
they  put  more  and  more  wood  on,  till  the  pot,  which  was  full  of 
pitch-tar  began  to  boil  and  sputter. 

**'  Ho,  ho  ! '  said  the  tailor  to  himself,  '  that's  the  way  you  do  it, 
eh  ? '  and  no  sooner  had  he  spoken,  than  one  of  the  cats  put  her 
paw  behind  the  pot  and  was  about  to  upset  it. 

"  '  Psht  I  cat !     You'll  burn  yourself,'  said  the  tailor. 

"'  Psht !  cat !  You'll  burn  yourself!  says  the  tailor  to  me,'  said 
the  cat  to  the  other  cats,  and  away  they  ran  from  the  fire,  and 
began  jumping  and  dancing  round  the  ring;  but  very  soon  the 
cat  stole  over  to  the  fire  again  with  the  intention  of  upsetting 
the  pot. 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL. 


•"Psht!  cat!  You'll  burn  yourself!'  cried  the  tailor,  and 
frightened  it  away  from  the  fire. 

"'Psht!  cat!  You'll  burn  yourself!  says  the  tailor  to  me,'  said 
the  cat  to  the  other  cats  ;  and  they  all  began  to  dance  and  jump 
about,  but  the  next  moment  they  tried  again  to  upset  the  pot. 

'"  Psht !  cat!  You'll  burn  yourself!'  shouted  the  tailor  so 
loudly,  that  he  frightened  them  away.  They  scampered  away 
over  the  floor,  the  one  over  the  other,  and  began  jumping  and 
dancing  as  before. 


"  They  then  formed  a  circle  outside  the  ring,  and  took  to  dancing 
round  it,  quicker  and  quicker,  till  the  tailor  thought  the  mill  was 
going  round  too.  The  cats  glared  at  him  with  such  big,  terrible 
eyes,  as  if  they  were  going  to  eat  him. 

"  But  while  they  were  in  the  middle  of  the  dance,  the  cat  which 
had  been  trying  to  upset  the  pot  put  her  paw  inside  the  ring  as  if 
she  wanted  to  get  hold  of  the  tailor.  But  when  he  saw  this  he 
loosened  his  sheath-knife  and  held  it  ready.  All  at  once  the  cat 
thrust  her  paw  inside  the  ring  again,  but  the  tailor  was  quick  as 
lightning  and  chopped  the  paw  off.  The  cats  set  up  .^a.  terrible 
howl,  and  away  they  rushed  through  the  door  as  fast  as  they  could. 


160  LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL. 

"  But  the  tailor  laid  himself  down  in  the  ring  and  slept  till  the 
sun  shone  far  into  the  mill.  Then  he  rose,  locked  up  the  mill, 
and  went  up  to  the  farm. 

"  When  he  came  in  both  the  farmer  and  his  wife  were  still  in 
bed,  for  it  was  Whitsunday  morning. 

"  '  Good  morning,'  said  the  tailor,  and  shook  hands  with  the 
farmer. 

"  '  Good  morning,'  said  the  farmer,  who,  as  you  may  guess,  was 
both  glad  and  surprised  to  see  the  tailor  safe  back  again. 

" '  Good  morning,  mother,'  said  the  tailor,  and  offered  the  gude- 
vvife  his  hand. 

"  '  Good  morning,'  said  the  wife  ;  but  she  was  so  pale,  and  looked 
so  queer  and  confused,  and  kept  her  right  hand  under  the  bed- 
clothes. At  last  she  offered  the  tailor  her  left  hand.  The  tailor 
then  guessed  how  matters  stood,  but  what  he  said  to  the  husband, 
and  how  it  fared  with  the  wife  after  that,  I  never  heard." 

"  The  farmer's  wife  must  have  been  a  witch  then  ? "  asked  the 
lad,  who  had  been  listening  intently. 

"  Yes,  of  course  she  was,"  said  the  old  man. 

We  could  scarcely  hear  each  other's  voices  any  longer ;  the  saw 
was  again  hard  at  work  and  making  a  terrible  noise.  The  moon 
had  now  risen.  I  felt  refreshed  after  the  short  rest,  and  bade  the 
old  man  farewell  and  started  for  town  in  company  with  the  scared 
lad,  following  the  footpath  below  the  Grefsen  hill.  A  white  mist 
floated  over  the  course  of  the  river  and  the  marshes  in  the  valley 
below.  Above  the  smoky  veil  over  the  town  rose  Akerhus  fort, 
with  its  towers  standing  out  in  sharp  relief  against  the  mirror  of 
the  fjord,  beyond  where  the  Noes  point  loomed  as  a  black  shadow. 

The  sky  was  almost  cloudless.  Scarcely  any  draught  could  be 
noticed  in  the  air.  The  light  of  the  moon  was  blended  with  the 
gloaming  of  the  summer  night  and  softened  the  outlines  of  the 
landscape  in  the  foreground,  which  lay  before  us.  But  the  distant 
fjord  lay  bathed  in  the  bright  and  beaming  moonlight,  while  the 
Asker  and  Bcerum  hills  loomed  high  up  in  the  sky  and  formed  the 
distant  frame  of  the  picture. 

Refreshed  by  their  cooling  bath  of  evening  dew,  the  violets  and 


LEGENDS  OF  THE  MILL.  161 

other  nocturnal  flowers  emitted  a  pleasant  fragrance  over  the  fields, 
but  from  the  bogs  and  the  rivulets  came  up  now  and  then  damp, 
penetrating  gusts,  that  sent  an  icy  chill  through  me. 

"  Ugh !  how  it  makes  one  shudder,"  cried  my  companion  on  such 
occasions.  He  believed  that  these  gusts  were  the  breath  of  passing 
spirits  of  the  night,  and  thought  he  saw  a  witch  or  cat  with  glowing 
eyes  in  every  bush  which  the  wind  put  in  motion. 


M 


THE  LAD  AND  THE  NORTH  WIND. 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  an  old  woman  who  had  a  son,  and 
as  she  was  very  weak  and  feeble,  she  sent  her  son  across  the  yard 
to  the  storehouse  to  fetch  the  meal  for  the  porridge  for  dinner. 
But  when  he  got  outside  on  the  steps,  the  north  wind  came 
rushing  past,  took  the  meal  out  of  his  bowl,  and  away  it  flew 
through  the  air. 

The  lad  went  back  to  the  storehouse  to  fetch  more,  but  when  he 
came  out  on  the  steps  the  north  wind  came  whistling  past  again, 
and  away  went  the  meal ;  and  when  the  lad  went  back  the  third 
time  for  the  meal,  the  north  wind  played  him  the  same  trick  over 
again.  The  lad  got  angry  at  this,  and  thought  it  wasn't  right  of 
the  north  wind  to  behave  in  this  manner,  so  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  give  the  north  wind  a  call,  and  ask  him  for  his  meal. 

Well,  the  lad  started  off,  but  it  was  a  long  way,  and  he  walked 
and  walked — and  came  at  last  to  the  north  wind. 

"  Good  day,"  said  the  lad,  "  and  thanks  for  calling  to  see  me 
yesterday."  "Good  day,"  answered  the  north  wind, — his  voice 
was  hoarse  and  gruft, — "  no  thanks  required.  What  do  you  want  ? " 
"  Oh,"  said  the  lad,  "  I  was  only  going  to  ask  you  to  be  good 
enough  to  let  me  have  back  that  meal  you  took  from  me  on  the 
steps,  because  we  haven't  much,  and  if  you  are  going  on  in  this 
way,  and  take  what  little  we  have,  we  shall  starve."  "  I  haven't 
got  any  meal,"  said  the  north  wind,  "  but  since  you  are  so  hard 
up,  you  shall  have  a  table-cloth,  which  will  provide  you  with  every- 
thing you  wish,  if  you  only  say,  '  Cloth,  spread  yourself  and  serve 
up  all  kinds  of  fine  dishes  ! '  * 


THE  LAD  AND  THE  NORTH  WIND.  165 

The  lad  was  well  satisfied  with  this.  But  as  the  way  was  so 
long  that  he  couldn't  get  home  that  night,  he  went  into  a  roadside 
inn,  and  when  they  were  going  to  have  supper,  he  put  the  cloth  on 
a  table  which  stood  in  the  corner,  and  said,  "  Cloth,  spread  your- 
self, and  serve  up  all  kinds  of  fine  dishes." 

He  had  scarcely  said  these  words  before  the  cloth  did  as  it  was 
told,  and  all  in  the  room  thought  it  was  a  very  nice  thing  to  have, 
but  no  one  liked  it  better  than  the  innkeeper's  wife.  She  thought 
that  would  be  the  very  thing  for  her.  It  would  save  her  such  a 
lot  of  trouble  in  frying  and  boiling,  laying  the  cloth,  and  putting 
the  things  on  the  table,  and  so  on. 

So  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  when  all  were  asleep,  she  took 
the  cloth  from  the  lad,  and  put  another  one  in  its  stead,  just  like 
the  one  he  had  got  from  the  north  wind,  but  her  cloth  couldn't, 
of  course,  serve  up  as  much  as  an  oatmeal  cake. 

When  the  lad  awoke,  he  took  the  cloth  and  set  out  on  his 
journey,  and  that  day  he  got  back  to  his  mother.  "  Well,"  he 
said,  "  I  have  been  to  the  north  wind,  I  have !  He  is  a  decent 
fellow,  I  think,  because  he  gave  me  this  cloth,  and  I  have  only 
to  say,  '  Cloth,  spread  yourself,  and  serve  up  all  kinds  of  fine 
dishes,'  and  then  I  get  the  best  of  everything  I  want  to  eat  and 
drink." 

"  Ah,  indeed  !  I  daresay,"  said  the  mother,  "  but  I  don't  believe 
it,  till  I  see  it."  So  the  lad  lost  no  time,  but  took  a  table,  laid  the 
cloth  on  it,  and  said,  "  Cloth,  spread  yourself,  and  serve  up  all 
kinds  of  fine  dishes,"  but  the  cloth  didn't  serve  up  so  much  as  a 
dry  crust. 

"  Ah,  well ! "  said  the  lad,  "  there's  no  help  for  it,  I  must  go  to 
the  north  wind  again,"  and  away  he  went.  Towards  evening,  he 
came  to  where  the  north  wind  lived. 

"  Good  evening,"  said  the  lad.  "  Good  evening,"  said  the  north 
wind.  "  I  want  my  rights  for  the  meal  you  took  from  us,"  said 
the  lad,  "  for  that  cloth  you  gave  me  is  not  good  for  anything." 
"  I  haven't  any  meal,"  said  the  north  wind,  "  but  here  is  a  goat 
for  you,  which  makes  only  golden  ducats,  if  you  only  say,  '  Goat 
of  mine,  make  money  !' ' 


1 66  THE  LAD  AND  THE  NORTH  WIND. 

That  pleased  the  lad,  but  as  it  was  too  late  to  get  home  that 
day,  he  went  into  the  same  inn  where  he  had  been  before.  But 
before  he  called  for  anything,  he  wanted  to  try  the  goat  and  see  if 
it  was  true  what  the  north  wind  had  said  about  it,  and  sure 
enough  the  goat  made  only  golden  ducats. 

But  when  the  innkeeper  saw  what  kind  of  goat  the  lad  had,  he 
thought  this  was  a  goat  worth  having,  so  when  the  lad  had  fallen 
asleep,  he  took  another  goat  which  couldn't  make  any  golden 
ducats,  and  put  that  in  its  place. 

Next  morning  the  lad  started  off  home,  and  when  he  came  in  to 
his  mother,  he  said,  "  The  north  wind  is  a  good  fellow  after  all  ; 
this  time  he  has  given  me  a  goat  that  makes  only  golden  ducats,  if 
I  only  say,  '  Goat  of  mine,  make  money  ! ' ' 

"Ah,  to  be  sure  !"  said  his  mother,  "that's  all  rubbish, — and  I 
don't  believe  it  till  I  see  it."  "  Goat  of  mine,  make  money ! " 
cried  the  lad,  but  not  a  shilling  could  the  goat  make. 

So  the  lad  went  back  again  to  the  north  wind,  and  said  that 
the  goat  wasn't  worth  anything,  and  he  wasn't  going  to  be  done 
out  of  his  meal,  not  he  ! 

"  Well,"  said  the  north  wind,  "  I  have  nothing  else  to  give  you 
but  that  old  stick  over  there  in  the  corner;  but  it  is  a  good  stick, 
and  if  you  only  say,  '  Stick  of  mine,  lay  on,'  it  lays  on,  till  you 
say,  '  Stick  of  mine,  leave  off.' " 

But  it  was  a  long  way  home,  and  the  lad  went  into  the  old  inn 
where  he  had  slept  before ;  and  as  he  pretty  well  guessed  how  he 
had  lost  the  cloth  and  the  goat,  he  lay  down  at  once  on  the  bench 
and  began  snoring  as  if  he  were  asleep. 

The  innkeeper,  who  thought  that  the  stick  must  be  good  for 
something  also,  looked  for  a  stick  like  the  one  the  lad  had, 
and  was  going  to  change  the  sticks  while  the  lad  was  snoring 
away,  but  just  as  the  innkeeper  was  going  to  take  the  stick,  the 
lad  cried  out,  "  Stick  of  mine,  lay  on,"  and  the  stick  commenced 
beating  the  poor  innkeeper,  till  he  jumped  over  chairs  and  tables, 
while  he  shouted  and  yelled  :  "  Oh  dear  !  oh  dear  !  Tell  the  stick 
to  leave  off,  or  else  it  will  kill  me ;  you  shall  have  both  your  cloth 
and  your  goat  back  again  !  " 


THE  LAD  AND  THE  NORTH  WIND. 


167 


When  the  lad  thought  that  the  innkeeper  had  had  enough,  he 
said,  "  Stick  of  mine,  leave  off ; "  took  his  cloth  and  put  it  in  his 
pocket,  and  with  the  stick  in  his  hand,  and  leading  the  goat  by  a 
string,  he  started  off  home.  And  now,  thought  the  lad,  he  had 
been  very  well  paid  for  the  meal  he  had  lost. 


ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE    KING'S    HARES. 


THERE  was  once  upon  a  time  a  man  who 
f  ave  up  his  farm  to  his  eldest  son  and  heir, 
but  he  had  still  three  sons,  and  they  were 
called  Peter,  Paul,  and  Ashiepattle.  They 
stayed  at  home  and  would  do  no  work  of 
any  kind,  for  they  had  had  too  good  times  of  it  in  their  young 
days,  and  now  they  thought  they  were  too  good  for  everything  and 
that  nothing  was  good  enough  for  them. 

At  last  Peter  had  got  to  hear  that  the  king  wanted  a  youngster 
to  watch  his  hares,  and  so  he  told  his  father  that  he  would  go  and 
try  for  this  situation,  which  he  thought  would  just  suit  him,  for  he 
would  serve  no  less  a  man  than  the  king,  he  said.  His  father 
thought  that  there  was  no  doubt  some  more  suitable  work  to  be 
found  for  him,  for  he  who  should  watch  hares  ought  to  be  light  and 
smart,  and  no  lazybones,  and  when  the  hares  began  to  run  and  fly 


ASHIEPATTLE  AND   THE   KING'S    HARES.  169 

about,  there  would  be  quite  another  dance  than  hanging  about  the 
house  all  day  doing  nothing.  Well,  there  was  no  help  for  it,  Peter 
would  try  it,  and  go  he  must ;  so  he  took  his  bag  on  his  back  and 
trudged  down  the  hill.  When  he  had  gone  a  good  long  distance, 
he  met  an  old  woman,  who  stood  fixed  w'th  her  nose  in  a  big 
block,  and  when  he  saw  how  she  pulled  and  tugged  to  get  loose 
he  began  laughing  with  all  his  might. 

"  Don't  stand  there  and  grin,"  said  the  woman,  "but  come  and 
help  an  old  woman  ;  I  was  going  to  chop  up  a  little  wood  and 
then  I  got  my  nose  stuck  in  this  block,  and  so  I  have  been  standing 
and  tugging  and  pulling  away,  and  never  tasted  a  mouthful  for 
a  hundred  years,"  she  said. 

But  Peter  only  laughed  more  and  more ;  he  thought  it  was  great 
fun,  and  said,  that  since  she  had  been  standing  thus  a  hundred 
years,  she  might  hold  out  for  another  hundred  years. 

When  he  came  to  the  king's  palace,  he  got  the  place  to  look 
after  the  hares  at  once.  It  was  not  a  bad  place  to  serve  in  there ; 
he  was  to  have  good  food  and  good  wages,  and  the  princess  in  the 
bargain  ;  but  if  only  one  of  the  king's  hares  was  lost,  they  were 
to  cut  three  red  stripes  out  of  his  back,  and  throw  him  into  the 
snake-pit. 

As  long  as  Peter  was  in  the  fields  near  the  palace,  he  managed 
to  keep  all  the  hares  in  one  flock,  but  as  the  day  wore  on  and  the 
hares  came  into  the  wood,  they  began  to  scamper  and  fly  about 
the  hills  in  all  directions.  Peter  ran  after  them  as  fast  as  his  legs 
would  carry  him,  but  at  last  he  had  only  one  of  the  hares  left,  and 
when  this  was  gone,  he  was  very  near  burst  with  running.  And 
so  he  saw  no  more  of  the  hares. 

Towards  evening  he  began  strolling  homewards ;  when  he  came 
to  the  gate,  he  stopped  there  gaping  and  staring  about  for  them, 
but  no  hares  came.  When  he  came  into  the  palace  yard  in  the 
evening  the  king  was  waiting  for  him  with  his  knife  ready,  and  cut 
three  red  stripes  out  of  his  back,  put  pepper  and  salt  into  them, 
and  cast  him  into  the  snake-pit. 

After  some  time  Paul  wanted  to  go  to  the  king's  palace  and 
watch  the  king's  hares.  His  father  told  him  what  he  had  said  to 


170 


ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE    KING'S    HARES. 


his  elder  brother  and  more  besides,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  he 
must  and  would  go.  It  fared,  however,  no  better  with  him  than 
with  Peter.  The  old  woman  stood  there  and  tugged  and  pulled 
away  at  her  nose,  which  stuck  in  the  block,  but  Paul  only  laughed 
and  thought  it  was  great  fun,  and  left  her  standing  there.  He  got 
the  place  at  once,  there  was  no  difficulty  about  that ;  but  the  hares 
ran  away  from  him  amongst  the  hills,  although  he  ran  and  rushed 
about  after  them  till  he  blew  and  panted  like  a  sheepdog  in  the 
sunshine.  When  he  came  back  to  the  palace  in  the  evening  with- 
out the  hares,  the  king  was  waiting  on  the  steps  with  the  knife 
in  his  hand,  and  cut  three  broad  red  stripes  out  of  his  back, 


put  pepper  and  salt  into  them,  and  then  away  to  the  snake-pit 
with  him. 

Well,  when  some  time  had  passed,  Ashiepattle  wanted  to  set 
out  for  the  king's  palace  and  watch  his  hares.  He  told  his  father, 
and  said  it  would  be  just  suitable  work  for  him  to  run  about  fields 
and  woods  amongst  the  strawberry  hills  after  a  flock  of  hares,  and 
now  and  then  lie  down  and  take  a  nap  on  some  sunny  hill. 

The  old  man  thought  he  no  doubt  could  find  some  more  suitable 
work  to  do,  but  if  he  did  not  fare  better,  he  could  not  fare  worse 
than  his  brothers.  He  that  would  watch  the  king's  hares  must  not 
drag  himself  along  as  if  he  was  a  lazybones  with  soles  of  lead  to 
his  boots,  or  like  a  fly  on  a  tar-brush,  for  when  the  hares  began  to 
scamper  about  on  the  hill-sides  it  was  quite  another  dance  than 
lying  at  home  and  catching  fleas  with  mittens  on.  He  that  wanted 
to  get  away  from  that  work  with  a  whole  back  would  have  to  be 


ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE   KING'S    HARES.  173 

smart  and  light  on  his  legs ;  in  fact  he  ought  to  fly  about  faster 
than  a  piece  of  dried  skin  or  a  bird's  wing. 

Well,  that  might  be,  said  Ashiepattle,  but  for  all  that  he  would 
go  to  the  palace  and  serve  the  king ;  he  couldn't  think  of  serving 
any  man  Jess  than  a  king.  He  would  look  after  the  hares,  he  said  ; 
they  couldn't  be  much  worse  than  the  goat  and  the  calf  he  had  to 
mind  at  home.  So  Ashiepattle  took  his  bag  on  his  back  and 
trudged  down  the  hill. 

When  he  had  gone  a  good  bit  of  the  way,  he  began  to  feel  very 
hungry,  but  just  then  he  came  up  to  the  old  woman,  who  was 
standing  with  her  nose  in  the  block,  tugging  and  pulling  away  at 
it  to  get  loose. 

"  Good  day,  old  mother,"  said  Ashiepattle ;  "  are  you  standing 
there  sharpening  your  nose,  you  poor  old  soul  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  heard  anybody  call  me  mother  for  a  hundred  years," 
said  the  old  woman  ;  "  come  and  help  me  out  of  this,  and  give  me 
something  to  eat ;  I  haven't  had  food  in  my  mouth  all  this  time. 
I'll  be  as  good  as  a  mother  to  you,  if  you  do ! " 

Well  yes,  he  thought  she  would  want  both  meat  and  drink  in 
that  case,  said  Ashiepattle. 

So  he  took  the  axe  and  split  the  block  for  her,  and  then  she  got 
her  nose  out  of  the  cleft.  He  sat  down  to  eat  and  shared  his  food 
with  her,  but  the  old  woman  had  a  splendid  appetite,  as  you  may 
guess,  and  finished  the  best  part  of  it. 

When  they  had  done,  she  gave  Ashiepattle  a  whistle,  and  told 
him  how  to  use  it.  If  he  blew  into  the  one  end  of  it,  everything 
which  he  wished  far  away  would  be  scattered  to  all  sides,  but  if  he 
blew  into  the  other  end  it  would  all  come  together  again  ;  and  if 
the  whistle  were  lost  or  was  taken  from  him,  he  had  only  to  wish 
for  it  and  it  would  come  back  to  him.  That  is  something  like  a 
whistle,  thought  Ashiepattle. 

When  he  came  to  the  king's  palace,  he  was  taken  into  service  at 
once,  as  they  made  little  or  no  difficulty  about  that.  He  was  to 
have  both  food  and  wages,  and  if  he  could  look  after  the  king's 
hares,  so  none  were  lost,  he  should  have  the  princess  as  well,  but  if 
any  got  away,  if  it  only  were  one  of  the  youngest  hares,  they 


1/4  ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE   KING'S   HARES. 

would  cut  three  red  stripes  out  of  his  back  ;  and  the  king  seemed 
to  be  so  sure  of  this,  that  he  went  and  sharpened  his  knife  there 
and  then. 

"  Well,  that's  a  small  matter  to  look  after  these  hares,"  thought 
Ashiepattle,  for  when  they  were  let  out  they  were  as  tame  as  a 
flock  of  sheep,  and  as  long  as  they  were  in  the  fields  about  the 
place  they  were  all  in  a  flock  and  followed  him  ;  but  when  they 
came  up  in  the  wood  it  was  close  upon  noon,  and  the  sun  shone  at 
his  best,  and  off  went  the  hares  scampering  about  the  hills. 

"  Halloa  ! "  cried  Ashiepattle,  and  blew  into  the  one  end  of  the 
whistle  ;  "  off  you  go  !  "  and  away  the  hares  ran  to  all  sides  ;  not  one 
was  to  be  seen.  But  when  he  came  to  an  open  place  in  the  wood, 
where  they  had  been  burning  charcoal,  he  took  his  whistle  and  blew 
into  the  other  end  of  it,  and  before  he  could  say  a  word  there  were 
the  hares,  all  in  a  row,  just  as  if  they  had  been  a  regiment  of 
soldiers  on  a  drill-ground.  Well,  that  is  something  like  a  whistle, 
thought  Ashiepattle  ;  and  so  he  went  to  take  a  nap  over  on  a  sunny 
hill-side,  while  the  hares  scampered  about  and  looked  after  them- 
selves till  the  evening  came.  He  then  blew  them  together 
again,  and  came  back  to  the  palace  with  them  just  like  a 
flock  of  sheep. 

The  king  and  the  queen  and  the  princess  too  stood  in  the  door 
and  wondered  what  sort  of  a  youngster  this  was,  who  could  look 
after  the  hares  so  well  and  bring  them  home  with  him  again.  The 
king  counted  them  backwards  and  forwards,  pointing  to  each  with  his 
finger,  but  no,  not  as  much  as  one  of  the  young  hares  was  missing. 

"  That  is  something  like  a  lad,"  said  the  princess. 

The  next  day  he  set  out  again  for  the  wood  with  the  hares,  but 
as  he  lay  and  took  a  rest  amongst  the  strawberries,  the  housemaid 
in  the  palace  came  up  to  him.  They  had  sent  her  after  him  to 
find  out  how  it  was  that  he  managed  to  look  after  the  king's  hares 
so  well. 

He  took  out  his  whistle  and  showed  it  to  her  ;  he  blew  into  the 
one  end  of  it  and  away  flew  the  hares  like  the  wind  between  the 
hills,  and  when  he  blew  into  the  other  end,  they  came  scampering 
down  the  hill  and  stood  in  a  row  before  him. 


ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE   KING'S    HARES. 


"  What  a  pretty  whistle,"  said  the  housemaid  ;  she  would  willingly 
give  a  hundred  dollars  for  it,  if  he  would  sell  it. 

"  Well,  yes,"  said  Ashiepattle,  "  it  is  something  like  a  whistle  ;  " 
but  it  was  not  to  be  bought  for  money,  but  if  she  beside  the 
hundred  dollars  would  give  him  a  kiss  for  every  dollar,  she 
should  have  it. 

Yes,  that  she  would  willingly  ;  she  would  not  mind  giving  him 
two  for  every  dollar  and  thank  him  for  it  besides. 

So  she  got  the  whistle,  but  when  she  came  back  to  the  palace,  the 
whistle  was  gone,  for  Ashiepattle  had  wished  for  it  back  again  ;  and 
when  the  evening  set  in,  he  came  home  with  his  hares  just  like 
another  flock  of  sheep.  For  all  the  king  counted  and  pointed 
and  reckoned,  he  could  not  find  as  much  as  a  hair  of  them 
missing. 


The  third  day  when  he  was  out  with  the  hares,  they  sent  the 
princess  after  him  to  try  and  get  the  whistle  from  him.  She  made 
herself  as  blithesome  as  a  lark,  and  at  last  she  offered  him  two 
hundred  dollars  if  he  would  sell  her  the  whistle,  and  tell  her  how 
she  should  manage  to  get  it  safe  home  with  her. 

"  Well,  yes,  it  is  something  like  a  whistle,"  said  Ashiepattle ;  and 
it  was  not  for  sale,  he  said,  but  for  all  that  he  would  do  it  for  her 
sake,  if  she  would  give  him  a  hundred  dollars  and  a  kiss  for  each 
dollar  in  the  bargain.  On  those  terms  she  could  have  the  whistle, 
and  if  she  wanted  to  keep  it,  she  must  look  well  after  it ;  that  was 
her  business. 

"That  was  a  very  high  price  for  a  hare-whistle,"  thought  the 


ASHIEPATTLE  AND   THE   KING'S    HARES. 


princess,  and  she  was  rather  shy  about  giving  him  the  kisses,  but 
since  they  were  out  in  the  wood,  where  no  one  could  see  or  hear  it, 
she  would  not  mind  giving  him  the  kisses  ;  for  the  whistle  she  must 
and  would  have,  she  said. 

When  Ashiepattle  had  got  what  he  was  to  have,  she  got  the 
whistle,  and  so  she  went  holding  it  tight  and  fingering  it  all  the 
way,  but  when  she  came  to  the  palace  and  was  about  to  show  it  to 
the  king,  it  disappeared  between  her  ringers. 


The  next  day  the  queen  would  go  herself  and  try  to  get  the 
whistle  from  him  ;  she  thought  she  would  be  sure  to  bring  it  back 
with  her. 

She  was  rather  close-fisted  in  money  matters  and  offered  him  only 
fifty  dollars,  but  she  had  to  raise  her  price  till  it  rose  to  three 
hundred.  Ashiepattle  said  it  was  something  like  a  whistle,  and 
it  was  really  no  bid  at  all  for  it,  but  for  her  sake  he  wouldn't 


ASHIEPATTLE  AND  THE   KING'S   HARES.  177 

mind  selling  it  to  her,  if  she  would  give  him  three  hundred  dollars 
and  a  smacking  kiss  for  each  dollar  in  the  bargain.  He  got  that, 
and  much  more,  for  she  was  not  so  stingy  in  that  respect. 

When  she  had  got  the  whistle,  she  tied  it  up  well  and  put  it 
in  a  safe  place ;  but  she  fared  no  better  than  the  others,  for  when 
she  was  going  to  pull  the  whistle  out  it  was  gone,  and  in  the  even- 
ing Ashiepattle  came  home  driving  the  king's  hares  before  him 
like  a  tame  flock  of  sheep. 

"  This  is  all  stuff  and  nonsense,"  said  the  king  ;  "  I  shall  have  to 
go  myself,  if  we  are  to  get  this  confounded  whistle  from  him.  I 
see  no  other  way  out  of  it."  So  when  Ashiepattle  next  day  had 
got  into  the  wood  with  the  hares,  the  king  set  out  after  him,  and 
found  him  on  the  same  sunny  hill-side  where  the  women  folk  had 
met  him,  and  made  the  bargain  with  him. 

Well,  the  king  and  Ashiepattle  became  good  friends  and  got 
on  very  well  together,  and  Ashiepattle  showed  him  the  whistle  and 
blew  both  in  the  one  and  the  other  end.  The  king  thought  it 
was  a  funny  whistle,  and  would  buy  it  by  all  means,  even  if  he 
should  pay  a  thousand  dollars  for  it. 

"  Yes,  it  is  something  like  a  pipe,"  said  Ashiepattle,  and  it  was 
not  to  be  had  for  money ;  "  but  do  you  see  that  white  horse  down 
yonder  ? "  he  said,  and  pointed  over  in  the  wood. 

"  Yes,  that's  my  own  mare,  Snowflake,"  said  the  king.  He  knew 
that  himself  without  anybody  telling  him. 

"  Well,  if  you  will  give  me  a  thousand  dollars  and  will  kiss 
that  white  mare  down  in  the  bog  behind  that  big  fir-tree  you 
shall  have  the  whistle." 

"  Is  it  not  to  be  had  at  any  other  price  ? "  said  the  king. 

"  No,  it  is  not,"  said  Ashiepattle. 

"  But  I  suppose  I  may  put  my  silk  handkerchief  between  ? "  said 
the  king. 

Yes,  he  might  do  that  And  so  the  king  got  the  whistle,  and 
put  it  into  his  purse,  and  this  he  put  into  his  pocket  and  buttoned 
it  well  up,  and  set  off  on  his  way  home. 

But  when  he  came  to  the  palace,  and  was  going  to  pull  out  the 
whistle,  he  was  no  better  off  than  the  women  folk  ;  he  had  not 

N 


1 78 


ASHIEPATTLE  AND   THE   KING'S    HARES. 


the  whistle  any  more  than  they.  Ashiepattle  came  home  driving 
the  flock  of  hares  and  there  was  not  a  hare  missing. 

The  king  was  in  a  great  rage  at  the  way  in  which  Ashiepattle 
had  made  a  fool  of  them  all.  There  was  no  question  about  it ; 
Ashiepattle  must  lose  his  life.  The  queen  said  the  same  ;  it  was 
best  to  punish  such  a  scamp  right  off. 

But  Ashiepattle  thought  it  was  neither  right  nor  fair,  for  he  had 
done  nothing  but  what  they  had  told  him  to  do,  and  besides,  he 
had  only  tried  to  save  his  back  and  life  as  well  as  he  could. 

So  the  king  said  he  would  pardon  him  if  he  could  tell  so  many 
lies  that  they  filled  the  large  brewing-vat  and  flowed  over.  If  he 
could  do  that  he  might  keep  his  life. 


Well,  that  was  neither  a  long  nor  a  difficult  piece  of  work,  said 
Ashiepattle ;  he  thought  he  could  master  that  job.  So  he  began 
telling  them  how  he  had  fared  from  the  very  first ;  he  told  them 
about  the  old  woman  with  her  nose  in  the  block  and  then  he  would 
say  :  "  I  must  get  on  faster  with  telling  lies  if  the  vat  is  to  be  full." 
So  he  told  them  about  the  whistle  he  had  got,  and  about  the 
housemaid  who  came  to  him,  and  wanted  to  buy  it  for  a  hundred 
dollars,  and  about  all  the  kisses  she  had  to  give  him  in  the  bargain. 
Then  he  told  them  of  the  princess,  how  she  came  to  him,  and  how 
much  she  had  to  kiss  him  to  get  the  whistle,  when  nobody  saw 
or  heard  it  over  in  the  wood — "  I  must  get  on  with  these  lies  if 
the  vat  is  to  be  full,"  said  Ashiepattle, — so  he  told  them  about  the 
queen,  how  stingy  she  was  with  the  money  and  how  liberal  she 
was  with  kisses,  that  one  could  hear  the  smacks  all  over  the 


ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE   KING'S    HARES. 


179 


wood — "  I  must  really  get  on  with  my  lies  if  the  vat  is  to  be  full," 
said  Ashiepattle. 

"  Well,  I  think  it's  pretty  full,"  said  the  queen. 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  the  king. 

At  last  Ashiepattle  began  to  tell  about  the  king,  who  came  to 
him,  and  about  the  white  mare  down  in  the  bog,  and  if  the  king 
wanted  the  whistle  he — he  would  have — he  would  have  to — "  I 
beg  your  majesty's  pardon,  but  I  must  put  some  lies  together  if 
the  vat  is  to  be  full — and " 

"  Stop,  lad,  stop  !  It  is  full  !  "  cried  the  king.  "  Don't  you  see 
the  vat  is  flowing  over  ?" 

So  the  king  and  queen  thought  they  could  not  do  any  better 
than  give  him  the  princess  and  half  the  kingdom  •  there  was  no 
help  for  it. 

"That  was  something  like  a  whistle,"  said  Ashiepattle. 


N    2 


MACKEREL  TROLLING, 


I  HAVE  grown  up  by  the  sea — • 
from  my  earliest  childhood  I  have 
wandered  about  between  the  skerries, 
the  breakers,  and  the  cliffs.  There  are 
smart  sailors  in  my  native  place,  and  no 
wonder,  for  they  begin  early.  No 
sooner  have  the  children  learnt  to  walk 
than  they,  the  first  thing  in  the  morning, 
with  nothing  on  but  their  shirt,  must 
climb  up  on  the  nearest  rock  or  knoll 
to  have  a  look  at  the  weather  or  the 
sea  ;  if  the  weather  is  calm,  they  put 
their  finger  into  their  mouths  and  hold 
it  up  in  the  air  to  feel  if  there  is  any 
air  stirring,  and  whence  it  comes.  As 
soon  as  they  can  handle  an  oar  they 
are  out  in  boats,  and  before  long  they 
are  playing  with  the  dangers  of  the  sea 
among  the  breakers.  In  my  youth  I 
used  often  to  go  to  sea  with  a  pilot 
from  those  parts,  one  of  the  finest 
seamen  I  have  known.  The  happy 
times  I  spent  with  him  belong  to  my 


MACKEREL  TROLLING.  181 

dearest  memories  of  the  past.  Free  and  happy  as  a  bird  I  flew 
over  the  billows, —  in  the  pilot's  light  yawl  we  cruised  about  among 
the  skerries  shooting  ducks,  eider-ducks,  and  seals, — in  his  deck- 
boat  we  steered  out  far  to  sea  trolling  for  mackerel,  and  when  he 
got  a  ship  to  pilot  in,  I  sailed  the  boat  home,  sometimes  alone, 
sometimes  in  company  with  the  pilot's  boy.  Since  that  time  I 
have  always  yearned  for  a  sailor's  life  and  the  open  sea.  But 
instead  of  losing  myself  in  extolling  the  glory  of  a  sailor's  life 
I  will  give  you  an  account  of  a  trip  we  made  together  when  I, 
some  years  ago,  was  on  a  visit  at  home. 

We  were  to  spend  some  days  by  the  outermost  skerries.  We 
had  the  deck-boat,  and  its  crew  consisted  of  Rasmus  Olsen — 
this  was  the  name  of  my  old  friend — the  pilot's  boy,  and 
myself. 

One  morning  in  the  early  grey  of  the  dawn  we  stood  out  to  sea 
to  troll  for  mackerel.  There  was  a  light  breeze  off  the  land  ;  it 
was  scarcely  strong  enough  to  lift  the  heavy  fog  which  lay  over 
the  skerries  and  the  naked  cliffs,  from  which  the  scared  sea-gulls 
flew  and  hovered  around  us  with  their  hoarse  cry  •  the  sea- 
swallows  uttered  their  ringing  "  Tree,  tree,"  and  the  oyster- 
catchers  their  mocking  "  Click,  click ! "  which  has  caused  so 
many  an  unsuccessful  sportsman  to  smile.  A  hazy,  close  atmos- 
phere hung  over  the  leaden  sea  ;  an  auk,  a  guillemot,  an  eider- 
duck,  or  a  tumbling  porpoise  enlivened  now  and  then  the 
scene. 

Rasmus  sat  in  the  after-hatch  at  the  helm,  while  the  boy  was 
now  forward,  now  aft,  as  circumstances  required.  Rasmus  was 
a  tall,  powerful  man,  with  a  weather-beaten,  furrowed  face  of  a 
good-natured  expression.  In  his  grey  intelligent  eye  lay  an 
earnest  searching  look,  which  told  that  he  was  used  to  encounter 
dangers,  and  look  deeper  into  things  than  the  smile  about  his 
mouth  and  jesting  words  would  denote.  As  he  sat  there  with  a 
sou'wester  down  over  his  ears,  in  a  long  pilot  coat,  his  figure 
appeared  in  the  misty  morning  air  to  assume  quite  supernatural 
proportions,  and  you  might  almost  imagine  that  you  had  one  of 
the  old  Vikings  before  you — the  Vikings,  however,  did  not  smoke 


1 82  MACKEREL  TROLLING. 

tobacco,  wmch  Rasmus  Olsen  did,  and  that  to  a  considerable 
extent. 

"  There  isn't  wind  enough  to  capsize  a  tea-cup  in  a  gutter," 
said  Rasmus,  and  shifted  his  chew  of  tobacco  with  a  little  black 
chalk  pipe,  while  he  looked  around  him  on  all  sides.  "  Last  night, 
at  sunset,  there  were  plenty  of  the  most  respectable  wind-clouds, 
but  now  there  isn't  a  capful." 

The  pilot-boy,  who  was  on  the  look-out  forward,  and  was  keeping 
the  boat  from  falling  off  by  using  the  starboard  oar,  as  the  current 
went  in  a  westerly  direction,  answered  that  he  thought  "  it  went 
a  little  easier  forward." 

"  No  fear  !  "  answered  Rasmus ;  "  it  isn't  as  if  it  were  sundown. 
We  sha'n't  get  any  wind  before  evening,  my  boy,  but  may  be  we 
shall  have  more  than  we  want  for  the  mackerel." 

The  breeze,  however,  soon  grew  stronger,  and  we  were  able  keep 
our  course  without  the  assistance  of  the  oars,  and  we  slipped  now 
at  a  smart  pace  out  to  sea.  The  fog  disappeared  gradually,  dis- 
closing the  blue  line  of  the  coast  and  the  far  outlying  naked 
skerries,  while  before  us  lay  the  ocean  in  its  interminable  extent, 
blushing  in  the  morning  sun.  The  land  wind  still  blew  strongly,  but 
the  higher  the  sun  rose,  the  stronger  grew  the  Seabreeze.  The  rising 
fog  lay  like  a  white  sheet  over  the  land.  We  had  by  this  time  a 
stiff  mackerel  breeze,  and  we  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  the 
mackerel  shoals. 

The  lines  were  ordered  out,  and  the  fish,  one  after  another,  took 
the  bait  till  the  whole  line  trembled  ;  amid  violent  sprawling  and 
struggling  these  silvery  children  of  the  sea  were  hauled  in.  But 
our  joy  was,  as  usual,  not  of  a  very  long  duration.  Later  in  the 
forenoon  the  gale  increased  more  and  more  ;  the  seas  set  in,  and 
the  waves  grew  bigger  and  bigger  ;  at  last  the  fishing-line  stood 
straight  out  behind,  and  the  stone  weights  jumped  along  the  tops 
of  the  billows,  while  the  seas — notwithstanding  the  guiding  hand 
of  the  pilot  sought  to  avoid  them — broke  over  our  little  nutshell, 
and  sent  the  spray  high  above  mast  and  sail.  We  pulled  in  the 
lines  and  gave  up  the  fishing.  The  pilot-boy  sat  in  the  main 
hatch  dangling  his  legs  and  looking  round  in  all  directions  from 


MACKEREL  TROLLING.  183 

old  habit.  Now  and  then  he  slipped  down  into  the  hold  and 
looked  at  his  watch,  which  he  had  shut  up  in  a  large,  red-painted 
sea-chest. 

"  Yes,  that  chest  and  that  watch ! "  said  Rasmus,  with  a  smile 
and  a  nod;  "I  should  think  he  is  fond  of  them — and  quite  right, 
too — if  it  hadn't  been  for  them  he  would  now  have  been  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  among  the  pebbles." 

I  asked  him  for  an  explanation  and  he  began :  "  It  was  late  in 
October  last  year  ;  we  had  terrible  weather,  and  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  I  could  keep  at  sea,  but  I  stayed  outside.  The 
lad  was  with  me  in  the  boat.  I  bore  down  upon  a  Dutchman  at 
last,  and  hailed  him.  I  came  safe  on  board,  but  I  felt  anything 
but  easy  about  the  boat  and  the  boy ;  my  thoughts  were  not 
where  they  should  be,  for  every  moment  I  had  to  give  the  boat 
and  the  boy  a  look,  and  at  last  I  saw  a  sea  strike  the  boat  aft, 
which  gave  it  a  send  forward  and  under,  and  the  next  moment 
he  was  gone. 

"  We  could  not  have  given  him  any  help  even  if  the  skipper 
would  have  done  so  ;  the  lad  was  too  far  away.  I  prayed  by 
myself,  and  thought  I  should  never  see  him  again.  But  the  first 
person  I  met  when  I  came  home  was  the  boy ;  he  had  come 
home  long  before  me.  He  pulled  out  his  watch  and  showed  it 
to  me  and  said,  '  I  have  saved  the  watch,  Captain,  and  it  goes 
too.'  The  Lord  be  praised,  I  thought,  that  you  are  saved  ;  I 
suppose  there  will  be  a  way  for  a  boat  again,  although  it  cost  me 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars — and  bran  new  sails  it  had  in  the 
bargain.  How  was  the  boy  saved  ?  Yes,  in  this  way — '  yes, 
you  rascal,'  he  said  to  the  lad,  who  sat  grinning  at  him,  and 
swinging  his  legs  still  quicker  backwards  and  forwards,  'he  who 
is  born  to  be  hanged  will  never  be  drowned, — well,  a  brig  came 
sailing  past  at  the  time.  Suddenly  they  heard  a  cry,  one  of  the 
crew  ran  forward,  but  they  saw  nothing,  they  never  thought  it 
came  from  the  water  ;  but  all  at  once  they  heard  the  cry  right 
under  the  bow,  and  when  the  captain  himself  came  forward  and 
looked  over  the  ship's  side,  there  sat  the  boy  on  the  sea-chest, 
holding  his  watch  in  the  .one  hand  high  above  the  seas;  There 


1 84  MACKEREL  TROLLING. 

was  only  just  sufficient  time  for  the  captain  to  give  the  man  at 
the  helm  a  sign  or  they  would  have  gone  clean  over  him.  They 
hove  to,  threw  him  a  rope,  and  hauled  him  up." 

In  the  afternoon  the  wind  fell  and  we  began  fishing  again.  We 
caught  a  few  fish,  whiling  away  the  time  with  all  sorts  of  stories. 

"  Ah,  well,  well,"  said  Rasmus,  and  shook  his  head  as  he  lighted 
a  fresh  pipe,  "  there  is  something  brewing  over  there  to  the  south  ! 
The  wind  we  had  was  only  an  early  puff!  You'll  see  we  shall 
have  our  full  allowance  !  Even  the  fish  know  it ;  they  don't  rise 
to  the  bait  any  more  and  the  birds  are  scared — hear  how  they 
wheeze  and  cry  as  they  seek  the  land.  There  will  be  the  right  sort 
of  weather  for  witches  and  such-like  to-night.  But  see!  if  he 

doesn't  tumble  himself  so  close  to  us  that  I  might "  spit  upon 

him  he  was  going  to  say,  but  at  that  moment  I  fired — I  had  put 
up  my  gun  and  aimed  at  a  porpoise  which  was  gambolling  about 
in  the  sea  close  to  us.  Being  hit,  he  lashed  the  water  so  violently 
with  his  tail  that  he  sent  a  shower  of  spray  over  us  as  high  as  the 
mast  of  our  boat,  and  made  us  all  wet  through. 

"  That  witch  will  not  send  us  any  bad  weather,  anyhow ! "  I 
said,  when  I  saw  the  water  coloured  red  from  his  blood.  Soon 
after  he  appeared  again,  blowing  very  hard,  but  the  next  moment 
he  turned  over  ;  Rasmus  was  not  slow  in  putting  the  boat-hook  in 
him  and  hauling  him  into  the  boat  with  my  assistance.  He  was 
much  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  the  oil  he  would  get  from  him, 
turned  the  heavy  creature  from  one  side  to  the  other,  fondled  him 
like  a  baby,  and  assured  me  he  was  a  "stunning  fat  sea-cub,"  which 
should  be  welcomed  at  home  for  boot-grease  and  lamp-oil. 

While  we  thus  were  joking  about  trolls  and  witches  who  cause 
gales  and  bad  weather,  a  very  remarkable  witch-story  came  to  my 
mind,  which  I  believed  I  had  heard  Rasmus  tell  me  in  my  childhood, 
but  my  recollection  of  it  was  so  faint,  that  I  was  not  sure  whether 
I  had  heard  it  or  dreamt  it.  I  asked  Rasmus  if  he  had  not  told 
me  such  a  story  about  three  witches. 

"  Ah,  that  one ! "  he  answered,  and  laughed  ;  "  that's  one  of  the 
sort  we  call  skipper's  yarns  nowadays,  but  in  the  olden  days  they 
believed  them  like  gospel.  Old  grandfather  told  it  me  when  I  was 


MACKEREL  TROLLING.  185 

a  small  boy,  but  whether  it  was  his  grandfather  or  great-grand- 
father who  was  the  cabin-boy  I  do  not  recollect.  Anyhow,  thus 
runs  the  tale. 

"  He  had  been  sailing  with  a  skipper  as  boy  the  whole  summer, 
but  when  they  were  going  out  on  a  trip  in  the  autumn,  he  got  a 
sullen  fit  and  would  not  join  the  ship.  The  skipper  rather  liked 
him,  for  although  he  was  a  young  hand,  he  was  very  handy,  and 
knew  his  work  well ;  he  was  a  big  and  strong  lad,  and  was  not 
afraid  to  bend  his  back  over  a  rope  ;  he  was  almost  as  useful  as  an 
able  seaman,  and  he  was  always  in  a  merry,  lively  humour,  and 
kept  up  the  spirits  of  all  on  board,  so  the  skipper  did  not  like  the 
idea  of  losing  him.  But  the  lad  had  no  mind  to  spend  the 
autumn  nights  on  salt  water;  however,  he  would  stay  on  board  till 
the  cargo  was  in  and  they  were  ready  to  sail.  One  Sunday,  when  the 
crew  had  liberty  ashore,  and  the  skipper  was  gone  to  see  a  timber- 
dealer  about  some  planks  and  firewood  for  deck-cargo — something 
on  his  own  account  I  suppose — the  boy  was  to  keep  on  board  and 
look  after  the  vessel.  But  I  must  not  forget  to  tell  you  that  the 
lad  was  born  on  a  Sunday,  and  had  found  a  card  with  the  four  of 
clubs ;  therefore  he  was  a  seer,  that  is  to  say,  he  could  see  the 
supernatural  people,  but  they  could  not  see  him." 

"  We  are  going  to  have  a  nasty  night,"  Rasmus  interrupted 
himself,  as  he  rose  from  his  seat  and  held  his  hand  up  to  protect 
his  eyes  against  the  ray  of  sunlight,  which  now  fell  across  the 
bright  billows,  to  be  able  to  see  clearly  in  a  southerly  direction. 
"  See  how  it's  working  up  ;  we  shall  have  thunder  and  lightning. 
Best  to  go  about  in  time ;  there  isn't  a  breath  of  air  now !  We 
are  lying  here  in  still  water  and  drift  about  like  a  bag  of  hay  ;  but 
we  must  take  in  a  reef  before  it  is  on  us.  Come  on,  Jack  !  " 

While  they  were  taking  in  the  reef,  I  took  the  helm  and  watched 
the  weather.  It  was  now  clear  and  perfectly  calm.  The  wind  had 
gone  down,  but  our  boat  was  rocking  with  the  swell.  Far  to  the 
south,  above  the  horizon,  stood  a  dark  bank  of  cloud  ;  we  saw  it 
first  like  a  narrow  streak  melting  into  sky  and  sea,  but  gradually  it 
had  risen  like  a  wall  or  a  curtain,  on  which  a  border  of  heavy, 
yellow,  torn  and  twisted  thunder-cloud  soon  appeared.'  At  some 


i86 


MACKEREL  TROLLING. 


moments  the  curtain  grew  thinner ;  it  appeared  as  if  some  one  was 

walking  behind  it  with  a  light.     No  flash  was  seen,  but  we  heard  a 

distant  faint  rumble,  which  I  at  first  believed  was  occasioned  by 

the  sea. 

"  Well/'  said  Rasmus,  when  he  had  lighted  his  pipe  and  taken 

the  helm  again,  "  the  boy  was,  as  I  said,  a  seer,  and  all  at  once,  as 

he  sat  forward  in  the 
forecastle,  he  heard 
some  one  speaking  in 
the  hold.  He  peeped 
through  a  crevice,  and 
then  he  saw  three  coal- 
black  ravens  sitting  on 
a  cross-beam  and  talk- 
ing about  their  hus- 
bands, whom  they  were 
all  tired  of  and  whom 
they  wished  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  It  was 
easy  to  understand  that 
they  were  witches,  who 
had  turned  themselves 
into  ravens. 

"  '  But  are  you  sure 
that  nobody  hears  us  ? ' 
asked  one  of  the  ravens. 
The  boy  knew  by  the 
voice  that  it  was  the 
skipper's  wife. 

"  '  No,  of  course  not,' 

said  the  other  two,  who  were  the  wives  of  the  first  and  second 

mate,  '  there  is  not  a  living  soul  on  board.' 

"  '  Well,  then  I'll  tell  you  ;  I  know  a  good  way  to  get  rid  of  them,' 

said  the  skipper's  wife,  and  jumped  closer  to  the  other  two;  'we 

will  make  ourselves  into  three  heavy  seas,  and  strike  the  vessel 

and  sink  it  with  all  hands.' 


MACKEREL  TROLLING.  187 

"  Yes,  the  others  thought  that  was  a  capital  way,  and  they 
remained  some  time,  and  talked  about  the  time  and  place. 

" '  But  I  suppose  no  one  hears  us/  said  the  skipper's  wife  again. 

"  '  Well,  you  know  that ! '  answered  the  other  two. 

"'You  see,  there  is  a  remedy  they  can  use  against  us,  and  if  it 
were  used,  it  would  be  a  serious  thing  for  us,  it  would  cost  us 
our  lives.' 

"  '  What  remedy  is  that,  sister  ? '  said  one  of  the  mates'  wives. 

"  '  But  are  you  sure  that  no  one  hears  us  ?  I  thought  I  saw  some 
smoke  from  the  forecastle.' 

" '  You  know  there  isn't !  We  have  looked  into  every  corner. 
They  forgot  to  put  out  the  fire  in  the  stove,  that's  the  reason  it 
smokes,'  said  the  mates'  wives.  '  Let's  hear  about  the  remedy ! ' 

" '  If  they  buy  three  cords  of  birch  logs,'  said  the  witch,  '  but 
they  must  be  exact  measure — and  no  bargaining  about  the  price, 
and  if  they  throw  overboard  the  one  cord  of  logs,  piece  by  piece, 
when  the  first  sea  comes,  and  the  other  cord,  piece  by  piece,  when 
the  second  sea  comes,  and  the  third  cord,  piece  by  piece,  when  the 
third  sea  comes,  then  it's  all  over  with  us.' 

"  '  Yes,  that's  true,  sister,  then  it's  all  over  with  us,  then  it's  all 
over  with  us !  '  said  the  mates'  wives  ;  '  but  nobody  knows  it ; ' 
they  screeched  and  laughed  aloud,  and  then  they  flew  up  through 
the  main  hatch,  and  screeched  and  gobbled  like  ravens. 

"  When  they  were  ready  to  sail,  the  boy  would  not  for  the  life  of 
him  go  in  the  ship  for  all  the  skipper  talked  to  him  and  promised 
him  ;  there  was  no  help  for  it,  he  would  on  no  account  go  in  the 
ship.  At  last  they  asked  him  if  he  was  afraid,  since  it  was  getting 
so  late  in  the  autumn,  and  if  he  would  rather  sit  in  the  chimney- 
corner  behind  his  mother's  petticoats. 

"  '  No,'  said  the  lad,  he  was  not  afraid  ;  he  thought  they  never  had 
seen  any  sign  of  his  being  afraid,  or  using  tricks  as  the  land  crabs 
might  do,  and  he  would  prove  it  to  them,  for  now  he  would 
go  with  them  in  the  ship,  but  on  the  condition  that  they  bought 
three  cords  of  birch  logs,  exactly  measured,  and  that  he  was  to 
have  the  command  of  the  ship,  as  if  he  was  the  skipper,  on  a  certain 
day.  The  skipper  asked  the  meaning  of  this  nonsense,  and  if  by 


1 88  MACKEREL  TROLLING. 

ever  had  heard  of  a  boy  taking  the  command  of  a  vessel.  The 
lad  answered  that  might  be  and  it  was  all  the  same  to  him  ;  if  they 
would  not  buy  three  cords  of  birch  logs,  and  obey  him,  as  if  he 
was  the  captain  for  one  day  only,  of  which  he  would  tell  them 
beforehand, — he  would  not  set  his  foot  on  board  any  more,  and 
still  less  would  he  dirty  his  hands  in  pitch  and  tar  on  board 
that  ship. 

"The  skipper  thought  it  was  a  very  strange  idea,  and  that 
he  was  a  strange  lad  altogether,  but  he  agreed  at  last,  because 
he  had  set  his  heart  on  having  the  boy  with  him,  and  I  suppose 
he  thought  he  could  easily  manage  him  when  they  got  out 
to  sea.  The  mate  was  of  the  same  opinion.  '  Oh  !  never  mind ! 
Let  him  take  the  command  !  If  we  go  to  leeward  we'll  have  to 
give  him  a  hand  ! '  said  the  mate.  So  the  birch  logs  were  bought 
and  correctly  measured,  and  no  bargaining  was  made  about  the 
price,  and  then  they  sailed. 

"  When  the  day  arrived  that  the  boy  was  to  be  skipper,  the 
weather  was  calm  and  fine,  but  he  called  all  men  to  reef  sails,  so 
the  ship  had  scarcely  any  sail  on  her.  It  was  just  about  the 
time  when  the  middle  watch  was  over  and  the  morning  watch 
was  called.  Both  skipper  and  crew  smiled  and  said  :  '  It's  easy 
to  see  who  has  command  of  the  ship  now ;  why  not  furl  the  sails 
altogether  ? ' 

"  '  Not  yet,'  said  the  boy,  '  but  very  shortly  ! '  Suddenly  a  squall 
burst  on  them,  so  violent  that  they  thought  the  ship  would  have 
capsized.  If  they  had  not  reefed  the  sails  there  was  no  doubt 
they  would  have  foundered  when  the  first  squall  struck  the  ship. 
The  lad  ordered  them  to  throw  out  the  first  cord  of  birch  logs,  but 
piece  by  piece,  only  one  at  a  time,  never  two,  and  they  must  not 
touch  the  other  two  cords  of  wood. 

"  The  crew  was  very  smart  in  carrying  out  his  orders  now,  and 
they  did  not  laugh  any  more  at  him,  but  threw  the  birch  logs  over- 
board piece  by  piece.  When  the  last  piece  went  over  the  side 
they  heard  a  moaning  like  from  one  who  is  in  the  last  pangs  of 
death,  and  the  next  moment  the  squall  was  over. 
" '  The  Lord  be  praised  ! '  said  the  crew 


MACKEREL  TROLLING,  191 

"  '  Well,  I  must  say  that  you  have  saved  both  ship  and  cargo,  and 
I'll  report  it  to  the  owners, — and  stand  by  it,'  said  the  skipper. 

"  '  Oh  yes,  that's  all  very  well,  but  we  haven't  done  with  it  yet,' 
said  the  lad,  '  we  shall  have  it  worse  directly,'  and  he  ordered  them 
to  furl  every  rag  but  the  mizen. 

"  The  second  squall  came  still  stronger  than  the  first,  and  it 
increased  so  much  that  the  crew  were  in  a  great  fright.  Just  as 
it  was  blowing  at  its  hardest  the  lad  told  them  to  throw  the  other 
cord  of  logs  overboard,  which  they  did  ;  they  threw  piece  by  piece, 
and  took  good  care  not  to  touch  the  third  cord.  When  the  last 
piece  of  log  went  over  the  side  they  heard  a  deep  groaning  again, 
and  so  the  wind  went  down. 

"'We  have  one  bout  left  now,  and  that  will  be  the  worst,'  said 
the  lad,  and  ordered  every  man  to  his  post,  while  the  ship  only 
went  under  bare  poles.  The  last  squall  was  worse  than  both  the 
preceding  ones, — the  ship  gave  a  lurch,  so  they  thought  it  would 
never  right  again ;  the  seas  washed  over  deck  and  gunwale. 
But  the  lad  ordered  them  to  throw  overboard  the  last  cord  of  logs, 
piece  by  piece,  and  not  two  at  a  time.  When  the  last  log  went 
over  the  side  they  heard  the  moaning  of  one  who  dies  a  hard 
death,  and  when  the  wind  had  gone  down  the  sea  was  coloured  by 
blood  as  far  as  they  could  see. 

"  When  all  was  over  the  captain  and  the  mate  said  they  would 
write  to  their  wives. 

"  'You  may  as  well  leave  that  alone,'  said  the  lad.  'You  haven't 
got  any  wives  any  more  ! ' 

"  '  What  nonsense  is  that,  you  young  whelp  ?  Have  we  no 
wives  ? "  said  the  captain. 

"  '  Have  you  finished  them  off,  perhaps  ? '  said  the  mate. 

" '  Oh  dear  no,  we  have  all  had  a  hand  in  that,'  answered 
the  boy ;  and  then  he  told  them  what  he  had  heard  and  seen  the 
Sunday  he  was  on  board  keeping  watch,  when  the  crew  had  liberty 
ashore,  and  the  skipper  went  to  see  the  timber-dealer. 

"  WThen  they  came  home  they  heard  that  their  wives  had  dis- 
appeared the  day  before  the  storm,  and  they  had  never  been  seen 
or  heard  of  since." 


192 


MACKEREL   TROLLING. 


During  this  and  other  stories  which  Rasmus  related  the  evening 
had  set  in.     The  storm  was  approaching  slowly,  and   gradually 


3rt-~.2;'v~~-~  J " 


covered   the  sky  like  a   dark  curtain ;    some   of   the    flashes   of 
lightning  struck  the  sea,  others  wound  themselves  like  snakes  in 


MACKEREL  TROLLING.  193 

a  horizontal  direction  across  the  sky  and  formed  flaming  fringes 
round  the  rich  folds  of  clouds  in  the  curtain.  At  other  times  the 
flashes  made  the  whole  curtain  transparent  like  a  veil.  Still  the 
storm  was  at  some  distance  ;  the  thunder  rumbled  faintly,  and  the 
sea  rolled  as  far  as  we  could  see  in  long  bright  waves,  but  they 
appeared  as  if  coloured  by  blood  or  wine,  for  the  sun  was  setting 
in  red  clouds,  the  colour  of  which  was  reflected  in  the  sea.  But  it 
was  apparent  that  we  could  not  escape  the  storm  ;  the  seas  in- 
creased, the  current  carried  us  towards  land,  and  only  now  and  then 
a  gust  of  wind  filled  our  sail.  By  the  last  glimmer  of  the  day  we 
saw  on  the  distant  ridge  of  the  horizon  a  black  streak  approaching 
us,  the  nearer  it  came  the  plainer  appeared  the  white  fringe  of  foam 
which  came  driving  on  before  it.  The  storm  and  the  dark  night 
were  upon  us.  Like  an  arrow  the  boat  sped  on,  and  before  long  we 
were  by  the  outside  skerries,  where  the  sea-birds,  disturbed  at  the 
constant  flashes  of  lightning  and  claps  of  thunder,  wheezed  and 
screamed  and  flew  about  in  swarms  like  white  clouds.  But  their 
screams  sounded  faint  amongst  the  breakers.  The  islands  and 
skerries  afforded  us  some  shelter  from  the  heavy  seas,  but  further  on 
towards  the  shore,  where  the  sea  broke  upon  it,  they  grew  again, 
and  by  the  light  of  the  flashes  of  lightning  we  saw  along  the  whole 
coast  high  foaming  breakers,  the  roaring  of  which  thundered  in  our 
ears.  Rasmus  kept  a  sharp  look-out  in  this  darkness,  which 
appeared  almost  impenetrable ;  I  could  not  distinguish  anything 
but  the  broad  white  fringe  of  foam,  which  we  were  approaching 
with  an  alarming  speed.  Shortly  I  discerned  a  small  dark  point, 
for  which  we  steered,  and  in  a  few  moments  we  passed  among  the 
surf  and  breakers  through  the  narrow  sound  by  the  Ullenhead,  and 
reached  in  safety  the  peaceful  harbour,  where  the  high  cliffs 
sheltered  against  storm  and  sea. 


PEIK. 

THERE  was  once  on  a  time  a  man  and  a  woman  ;  they  had  a 
son  and  a  daughter  who  were  twins,  and  they  were  so  like  each 
other  that  you  could  not  tell  the  one  from  the  other,  except  by  their 
clothes. 

The  boy  they  called  Peik.  He  was  of  little  use  on  the  farm 
while  the  parents  lived,  for  he  did  not  care  for  anything  else  but 
playing  tricks  upon  people,  and  he  was  so  full  of  tricks  and  pranks, 
that  no  one  was  left  in  peace  for  him.  But  when  the  parents  died 
he  grew  worse  and  worse, — he  would  not  do  anything  ;  he  only  did 
his  best  to  make  an  end  of  what  there  was  left  after  them,  and  to 
quarrel  with  everybody.  The  sister  worked  and  toiled  all  she 
could,  but  it  was  of  little  help,  and  so  she  told  him  how  wrong  it 
was  that  he  would  not  do  anything  useful,  and  asked  him  : 

"  What  do  you  think  we  shall  live  upon,  when  you  have  finished 
everything  ? " 

"  Oh,  I'll  go  and  play  a  trick  upon  somebody,"  said  Peik. 

"  Yes,  you  are  always  ready  and  willing  when  you  are  bent 
upon  that,"  said  his  sister. 

"  Well,  I'll  try  my  best,"  said  Peik. 

So  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  everything,  and  there  was 
nothing  more  in  the  house,  he  set  out  on  his  journey,  and  walked 
and  walked  till  he  came  to  the  king's  palace. 

The  king  was  standing  at  the  door,  and  when  he  saw  the  lad 
he  said  : 

"  Where  are  you  off  to  to-day,  Peik  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  am  off  to  see  if  I  cannot  play  a  trick  upon  somebody," 
said  Peik. 


PEIK.  195 

"  Can't  you  play  a  trick  upon  me,  then  ? "  said  the  king. 

"  No,  I  don't  think  I  can,  because  I  have  left  my  trickery-sticks 
at  home,"  said  Peik. 

"  Can't  you  go  and  fetch  them  ? "  said  the  king  ;  "  I  should  like 
to  see,  if  you  are  such  a  clever  trickster  as  folks  make  you 
out  to  be." 

"  I  am  not  able  to  walk  so  far  now,"  said  Peik. 

"  I'll  lend  you  a  horse  and  saddle,"  said  the  king. 

"  I  don't  think  I  am  able  to  ride  either,"  said  Peik. 

"  We'll  lift  you  up,"  said  the  king,  "and  I  suppose  you'll  be  able 
to  stick  on  to  the  horse." 

Well,  Peik  rubbed  and  scratched  his  head,  as  if  he  was  going  to 
pull  all  his  hair  off,  but  he  let  himself  be  lifted  on  top  of  the  horse 
at  last ;  there  he  sat,  and  swung  backwards  and  forwards  and  side- 
ways as  long  as  the  king  could  see  him,  and  the  king  laughed 
till  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes,  for  he  had  never  seen  such  a 
sorry  horseman  before.  But  as  soon  as  Peik  came  into  the  wood 
behind  the  hill,  where  the  king  could  see  him  no  longer,  he  sat 
straight  and  steady  as  if  he  was  nailed  to  the  horse  and  started  off 
as  if  he  had  stolen  both  horse  and  bridle,  and  when  he  came  to 
the  town  he  sold  them  both. 

In  the  meantime  the  king  walked  up  and  down  and  waited  for 
Peik.  He  longed  to  see  him  coming  back  with  his  trickery-sticks ; 
he  could  not  help  laughing  when  he  called  to  mind  how  pitiable 
he  looked,  as  he  sat  rolling  to  and  fro  on  the  horse  like  a  haybag 
which  didn't  know  which  sHe  to  fall  off  on  ;  but  hours  went  and 
hours  came, — and  no  Peik  came.  So  the  king  guessed  at  last  that 
he  had  been  played  a  trick,  and  done  out  of  his  horse  and  saddle 
as  well,  although  Peik  did  not  have  his  trickery-sticks  with  him. 
But  then  things  took  another  turn,  for  the  king  got  in  a  rage  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  take  Peik's  life. 

But  Peik  got  to  know  the  day  when  he  was  coming,  and  told  his 
sister  to  put  the  porridge-pot  on  the  fire  with  some  water  in  it. 
But  just  before  the  king  came  in  he  took  the  pot  off  the  fire  and 
put  it  on  the  chopping-block  and  began  making  the  porridge  on 
the  block. 

O  2 


196  PEIK. 

The  king  wondered  at  this,  and  was  so  taken  up  with  the 
wonderful  pot  that  he  forgot  what  he  had  come  there  for. 

"  What  do  you  want  for  that  pot  ? "  said  he. 

"  I  can't  spare  it  very  well,"  said  Peik. 

'  Why  can't  you  spare  it  ?  "  said  the  king  ;  "  I'll  make  it  worth 
your  while  to  sell  it." 

"  Well,  it  saves  me  both  money  and  trouble,  chopping  and 
carrying,"  said  Peik. 

"Nevermind,  I'll  give  you  a  hundred  dollars  for  it,"  said  the 
king  ;  "  you  did  me  out  of  horse  and  saddle  the  other  day,  and  the 
bridle  too,  but  I'll  let  bygones  be  bygones,  if  I  get  the  pot." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  you  must  have  it  then,"  said  Peik. 

When  the  king  came  back  to  the  palace  he  sent  out  invitations 
to  a  great  feast,  but  the  meat  was  to  be  boiled  in  the  new  pot,  which 
was  put  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 

The  guests  thought  the  king  was  out  of  his  mind,  and  went  about 
nudging  each  other  and  laughing  at  him.  But  he  walked  round 
the  pot  and  cackled  and  chuckled  to  himself,  saying  all  the  time, 
"  All  right,  all  right!  wait  a  bit!  it  will  boil  directly;"  but  there 
was  no  sign  of  any  boiling. 

So  the  king  guessed  that  Peik  had  been  playing  a  trick  upon  him 
again,  and  he  set  out  to  kill  him. 

When  the  king  came  to  his  place  Peik  was  standing  by  the  barn 

"Wouldn't  it  boil  ?  "  he  said. 

"  No,  it  would  not,"  said  the  king ;  "  but  now  you  shall  suffer  for 
it,"  he  said,  and  was  going  to  get  his  knife  ready. 

"  I  believe  you  there,"  said  Peik,  "  for  you  did  not  have  the 
block." 

"  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  you  are  telling  a  lie  again,"  said 
the  king. 

''  It's  all  for  the  want  of  the  block,"  said  Peik  ;  "  the  pot  won't 
boil  without  it." 

Well,  what  was  he  going  to  have  for  it  ? 

"  It  was  worth  three  hundred  dollars  at  least,  but  for  his  sake  it 
should  go  for  two,"  said  Peik. 

So  the  king  got  the  block,  and  set  off  for  home.     He  invited 


PEIK.  197 

guests  again  to  a  feast  and  put  the  pot  on  the  block  in  the  middle 
of  the  room.  The  guests  thought  the  king  was  gone  sheer  mad, 
and  went  about  making  game  of  him.  He  cackled  and  chuckled 
round  the  pot,  saying  all  the  time,  "  Wait  a  bit,  it  will  boil  soon, — 
it  will  boil  directly  ; "  but  there  was  no  more  chance  of  its  boiling 
on  the  block  than  on  the  floor. 

So  the  king  guessed  that  he  had  been  tricked  by  Peik  that  time 
as  well.  He  tore  his  hair,  and  would  not  rest  till  he  set  out  to  kill 
him ;  he  should  not  spare  him  this  time,  whether  he  had  got  any- 
thing to  say  for  himself  or  not. 

But  Peik  was  prepared  to  receive  him  again.  He  killed  a  wether 
and  took  the  bladder  and  filled  it  with  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered 
animal.  He  then  put  the  bladder  in  his  sister's  bosom  and  told  her 
what  she  should  say  when  the  king  came. 

"  Where  is  Peik  ? "  shouted  the  king.  He  was  in  such  a  rage 
that  his  voice  trembled. 

"  He  is  so  poorly,  that  he  is  not  able  to  move,"  answered  the 
sister,  "  and  so  he  thought  he  would  try  and  get  some  sleep." 

"  You  must  wake  him  up  !  "  said  the  king. 

No,  she  dared  not  do  it ;  he  was  so  hasty. 

"  Well,  I  am  still  more  hasty,"  said  the  king  ;  "  and  if  you  don't 

wake  him  I'll "  and  with  that  he  put  his  hand  to  his  side  for 

his  knife. 

No,  no !  she  would  rather  wake  him ;  but  Peik  turned  round  in 
his  bed  in  great  rage,  pulled  out  his  knife  and  stabbed  her  in  the 
bosom,  but  the  knife  hit  only  the  bladder ;  a  stream  of  blood 
gushed  out,  and  she  fell  down  on  the  floor  as  if  she  were 
dead. 

"  What  a  villain  you  are,  Peik,"  said  the  king,  "  you  have  stabbed 
your  own  sister  and  that  while  the  king  stands  by  and  looks 
at  it." 

"  Oh,  there  isn't  much  danger,  as  long  as  I  have  got  breath  in 
my  nostrils,"  said  Peik,  and  took  a  ram's  horn,  which  he  began 
blowing  ;  and  when  he  had  blown  a  wedding  march  on  it  he  put 
the  horn  to  his  sister's  nostrils  and  blew  life  into  her  again  and 
she  rose  up  as  if  nothing  had  been  the  matter  with  her. 


198  PEIK. 

"  Why,  bless  me,  Peik  !  Can  you  kill  people  and  blow  life  into 
them  again  ?  "  said  the  king. 

"  Well,  yes,  what  would  become  of  me  if  I  couldn't?"  said  Peik. 
"You  see,  I  am  so  hasty,  and  I  can't  help  killing  every  one  who 
comes  near  me  and  annoys  me." 

"  I  am  also  very  hasty,"  said  the  king,  "  and  I  must  have  that 
horn  ;  I'll  give  you  a  hundred  dollars  for  it,  and  Til  forgive  you 
besides  for  doing  me  out  of  the  horse  and  cheating  me  on  that  pot 
and  block  business,  and  all  the  rest." 

Peik  could  not  very  well  spare  the  horn,  but  for  his  sake  he 
should  have  it,  and  so  the  king  got  it,  and  set  out  home  as  fast  as 
he  could. 

He  had  no  sooner  come  home  before  he  must  try  the  horn. 
He  began  quarrelling  and  scolding  the  queen  and  his  eldest 
daughter,  and  they  scolded  him  again,  but  before  they  knew  a  word 
about  it  he  pulled  out  his  knife  and  stabbed  them  both,  so  they  fell 
down  stone  dead,  and  all  who  were  in  the  room  ran  out  ;  they  were 
so  afraid. 

The  king  walked  up  and  down  the  floor  for  some  time  and  kept  on 
saying  there  was  no  danger  so  long  as  there  was  breath  in  his  nostrils, 
and  a  great  deal  more  nonsense  which  had  flowed  out  of  Peik's 
mouth.  He  then  took  the  horn  and  began  blowing,  but  although 
he  blew  all  he  could  that  day  and  the  day  after  as  well,  he  could 
not  blow  life  into  the  bodies  ;  they  were  dead,  and  dead  they 
remained,  both  the  queen  ind  his  daughter,  and  so  he  had  to  bury 
them,  and  to  give  a  grand  funeral  in  the  bargain. 

When  this  was  done  the  king  set  out  to  settle  with  Peik  and  to 
take  his  life,  but  Peik  had  everything  prepared,  for  he  knew  the 
king  was  coming,  and  he  said  to  his  sister : 

"You  must  change  clothes  with  me  and  be  off!  You  may  take 
all  we  have  with  you." 

Yes,  she  changed  clothes  with  him,  packed  up  her  things,  and 
started  off  as  fast  as  she  could,  while  Peik  sat  all  by  himself  in  his 
sister's  clothes. 

"Where  is  that  Peik?"  said  the  king,  as  he  came  in  a  great 
rage  through  the  door. 


PEIK.  199 

"  He's  gone  away,"  said  he  who  sat  in  the  sister's  clothes. 

"  Well,  had  he  been  at  home  now  he  wouldn't  have  had  long  to 
live,"  said  the  king ;  "  it's  no  use  sparing  the  life  of  such  a  scamp." 

"  He  knew  your  majesty  was  coming  to  punish  him  for  having 
played  so  many  tricks  upon  you,  and  so  he  ran  away  and  left  me 
behind  here  both  without  food  or  money,"  said  Peik,  trying  to 
appear  like  a  shy  bashful  maiden. 

"  Come  along  with  me  to  the  palace,  and  you  shall  get  enough 
to  live  on  ;  there  is  little  use  in  sitting  in  the  cottage  here  and 
starving,"  said  the  king. 

Yes,  he  would  willingly  do  that,  and  so  the  king  took  him  and 
let  him  learn  everything,  and  kept  him  as  one  of  his  own  daughters  ; 
in  fact  the  king  felt  now  as  if  he  had  all  his  three  daughters  again, 
for  Peik  stitched  and  sewed  and  sung  and  played  with  them,  and 
was  in  their  company  early  and  late. 

Some  time  afterwards  a  prince  came  to  the  palace  to  woo  one 
of  the  princesses. 

"  Yes,  I  have  three  daughters,"  said  the  king  ;  "  you  have  only 
to  say  which  one  you  will  have." 

So  the  prince  got  leave  to  go  up  in  their  bower  and  get 
acquainted  with  them.  In  the  end  he  liked  Peik  best,  and  threw 
a  silk  handkerchief  into  his  lap,  and  so  they  began  getting  every- 
thing ready  for  the  wedding,  and  shortly  the  prince's  relations 
arrived  at  the  palace,  and  the  wedding  festivities  commenced  in 
earnest  with  feasting  and  drinking ;  but  on  the  wedding  day,  as 
night  was  coming  on,  Peik  dared  not  remain  any  longer,  and  he  stole 
out  of  the  palace  and  ran  across  the  fields ;  and  there  was  no  bride 
to  be  found. 

And  worse  remains  to  be  told,  for  the  two  princesses  were 
suddenly  taken  ill,  and  all  the  guests  had  to  break  up  and  take 
their  departure  just  as  they  were  in  the  middle  of  all  the  fun  and 
feasting. 

The  king  was  both  enraged  and  sorrowful  at  these  misfortunes, 
and  began  to  wonder  what  could  really  be  the  cause  of  them. 

So  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  out,  for  he  thought  it  was  so 
lonely  to  stay  alone  by  himself  at  home  ;  but  when  he  came  out 


20O 


PEIK. 


in   the   fields    he   saw    Peik   sitting  there  on    a   stone,  playing  a 

Jew's  harp, 

"  Halloh  !  are  you  sitting  there,  Peik  ?  "  asked  the  king. 

"Of  course  I  am,"  said  Peik,  "I  can't  sit  in  two  places  at  once." 

"Well,  you   have   played  such  vile    tricks    on    rne   time   after 

time,"  said  the  king,  "  that  you  will  have  to  come  with  me  and  get 

your  deserts." 


il  Well,  I  suppose  there's  no  help  for  it,"  said  Peik,  "  so  I  may  as 
well  jump  into  it  as  creep  into  it." 

When  they  came  to  the  palace  the  king  gave  orders  to  get 
ready  a  barrel,  which  Peik  was  to  be  put  in,  and  when  it  was 
ready  they  carted  it  up  on  a  high  mountain,  where  he  was  to  lie  in 
the  barrel  for  three  days  to  think  on  all  that  he  had  done  before 
they  rolled  the  barrel  down  the  mountain  into  the  sea. 


PEIK.  201 

On  the  third  day  a  rich  man  came  past  as  Peik  lay  in  the  barrel 
singing— 

"  To  paradise,  to  paradise  I  am  bound, 
Safe  in  my  barrel  as  it  turns  round  and  round." 

When  the  man  heard  this,  he  asked  Peik  what  he  would  take  to 
let  him  take  his  place. 

"  I  ought  to  be  well  paid  for  that,"  said  Peik,  "  for  there  isn't 
such  a  chance  every  day  to  go  straight  to  paradise  " 

The  man  was  willing  to  give  him  all  he  possessed,  and  so  he 
knocked  out  the  bottom  of  the  barrel  and  crept  into  it  instead 
of  Peik. 

In  the  evening  the  king  came  to  roll  the  barrel  down  the 
mountain. 

"  A  safe  journey  to  you  ! "  said  the  king ;  he  thought  it  was 
Peik  who  was  in  it.  "  You'll  roll  faster  into  the  sea  than  if  you 
were  drawn  by  the  swiftest  reindeer,  and  now  there  will  be  an  end 
both  to  you  and  your  tricks." 

Before  the  barrel  was  half  way  down  the  mountain  there 
wasn't  a  whole  stave  or  bit  of  it  left,  nor  of  the  man  who  was 
inside.  But  when  the  king  came  home  to  the  palace,  Peik  was 
there  before  him  He  sat  on  the  steps  and  played  upon  the  Jew's 
harp. 

"  What !  are  you  sitting  here,  Peik  ?  "  said  the  king. 

"  Of  course  I  am,"  said  Peik.  "  I  suppose  I  may  have  lodgings 
and  shelter  for  all  my  horses,  my  cattle  and  my  money." 

"  Where  did  I  roll  you  to,  that  you  got  all  these  riches  ?  "  asked 
the  king. 

"  Oh,  you  rolled  me  into  the  sea,"  said  Peik,  "  and  when  I  came 
to  the  bottom  there  was  more  than  enough  to  take  both  of 
horses  and  cattle,  of  gold  and  goods.  They  went  about  in  flocks, 
and  the  gold  lay  in  heaps  as  big  as  houses. 

"  What  will  you  take  to  roll  me  the  same  way  ? "  said  the  king. 

"  Oh,  that  sha'n't  cost  you  much,"  said  Peik.  "  Since  you  didn't 
take  anything  of  me,  I  won't  take  anything  of  you  either." 


202  PEIK. 

So  he  put  the  king  into  a  barrel  and  rolled  him  down  the  moun- 
tain ;  and  when  he  thus  had  got  the  king  out  of  the  way,  he  went 
home  to  the  palace  and  married  the  youngest  princess  and  had  a 
grand  wedding.  Afterwards  he  ruled  his  land  and  kingdom  well 
and  wisely,  but  he  left  off  playing  tricks  upon  people  and  he  was 
never  spoken  of  as  Peik  any  more,  but  as  His  Royal  Majesty 
the  King ! 


FOOLISH    MEN    AND    SCOLDING   WIVES. 


THERE  were  once  upon  a  time  two  women,  who  were  always 
quarrelling,  as  women  will  do,  and  one  day  when  they  had  nothing 
else  to  quarrel  about,  they  began  arguing  about  their  husbands,  as 
to  who  was  the  most  foolish. 

The  longer  they  argued  the  more  angry  they  got,  and  at  last 
they  were  very  near  pulling  each  other's  hair,  for,  as  every  one 
knows,  it  is  easier  to  begin  a  quarrel  than  to  end  it,  and  it's  a  bad 
look-out  if  sense  is  wanting  in  such  a  predicament. 


204  FOOLISH  MEN  AND  SCOLDING  WIVES. 

One  of  them  said  there  was  nothing  which  she  could  not  get  her 
husband  to  believe,  if  she  only  said  It,  for  he  was  as  stupid  as  the 
trolls,  and  believed  anything.  The  other  said  that  there  was 
nothing  so  silly  that  she  could  not  get  her  husband  to  do,  if  she 
only  said  it  ought  to  be  done,  for  he  was  so  foolish  and  stupid  that 
you  could  not  easily  find  his  like. 

"  Well,  let  us  try  who  can  make  the  biggest  fool  of  our  hus- 
bands, and  then  we'll  see  which  one  is  the  most  stupid,"  they  said 
one  day,  and  to  this  they  both  agreed. 

When  the  husband  of  the  first  of  these  women  came  home  from 
the  wood,  his  wife  said  :  "  Goodness  gracious  !  what  ails  you  ? 
You  must  be  ill,  you  look  as  if  you  were  dying." 

"  Want  of  something  to  eat  and  drink  is  all  that  ails  me,"  said 
the  husband. 

"  But  gracious  goodness  !  "  screeched  the  woman,  "you  are  look- 
ing worse  and  worse  every  minute  !  You  look  like  a  corpse  !  You 
must  go  to  bed  !  Dear,  oh  dear,  this  can  never  last  long."  And 
in  this  way  she  went  on,  till  she  got  her  husband  to  believe  that 
he  was  on  the  point  of  dying,  and  she  got  him  to  go  to  bed,  folded 
his  hands,  and  closed  his  eyes  ;  next  she  laid  him  out  and  put  him 
into  a  coffin,  and  that  he  might  not  be  smothered  while  he  was 
there,  she  had  some  holes  made  in  the  boards,  so  he  could  bo^h 
breathe  and  look  out. 

The  other  woman  took  a  pair  of  carding-combs  and  began  to 
card,  but  she  had  no  wool  upon  them.  The  man  happened  to 
come  in  and  see  this  foolish  operation. — "  There  is  little  help  in 
a  spinning-wheel  without  yarn,  but  carding-combs  without  wool 
is  the  height  of  woman's  nonsense,"  said  her  husband. 

"  Without  wool  ? "  said  the  woman,  "  why  I  have  wool !  But 
you  don't  see  it,  for  it  is  of  a  very  fine  sort,  I  can  tell  you."  When 
she  had  done  the  carding,  she  brought  out  her  spinning-wheel  and 
began  spinning. — "But  this  is  foolish  work,"  said  the  man  ;  "you 
are  sitting  there  spinning  and  spoiling  your  wheel  all  the  time, 
since  you  have  got  nothing  on  it !  " — "  Nothing  on  it  ?  "  said  the 
woman,  "  but  the  thread  is  so  fine,  that  it  wants  better  eyes  than 
yours  to  see  it,"  she  said. 


FOOLISH  MEN  AND  SCOLDING  WIVES.  205 

When  she  was  ready  with  the  spinning  she  took  the  yarn  off  the 
wheel  and  sat  up  her  loom  and  began  weaving  the  cloth.  She 
then  took  it  off  her  loom,  pressed  it  and  cut  it  out,  and  sewed  new 
clothes  of  it  for  her  husband  ;  and  when  they  were  ready  she  hung 
them  up  in  the  loft  of  the  storehouse.  The  husband  could  see 
neither  the  cloth  nor  the  clothes,  but  he  had  got  the  belief  into 
his  head  that  the  cloth  was  so  fine  that  he  could  not  see,  and  so 
he  only  said  :  "  Well  yes,  if  it  is  so  fine,  it's  very  fine  indeed." 

But  one  day  his  wife  said  to  him  :  "You  must  go  to  the  funeral 
to-day;  our  neighbour,  who  died  the  other  day,  is  going  to  be 
buried  to-day,  and  so  you  had  better  use  your  new  clothes." — Yes, 
he  would  go  to  the  funeral,  and  she  helped  him  to  put  the  clothes 
on,  for  they  were  so  fine,  that  he  might  easily  tear  them  to  pieces 
if  he  put  them  on  himself.  When  he  came  to  his  neighbour's  farm 
the  funeral  feast  had  already  begun,  and  the  guests  had  been 
drinking  hard  ;  their  grief  did  not  increase  much  you  may  depend, 
when  they  saw  the  last  arrival  in  his  new  clothes. 

But  when  they  set  out  for  the  churchyard,  and  the  dead  man 
peeped  out  through  the  holes  in  his  coffin,  he  burst  out  laughing 
till  the  coffin  shook. 

"Well,  well,"  he  cried;  "I  can't  help  laughing  when  I  see 
Joe  Southend  walking  stark  naked  at  my  funeral  ! " 

When  the  people  heard  this,  they  were  not  slow  in  taking  the 
lid  off  the  coffin,  and  the  man  in  the  new  clothes  asked  how  it  was 
that  the  man  whose  funeral  they  had  been  feasting  at  was  lying  in 
the  coffin,  talking  and  laughing  ;  "  it  would  be  more  seemly  if  he 
was  crying  and  weeping." 

"Well,  tears  never  dug  any  one  out  of  his  grave  yet,"  said  the 
other,  and  so  the  two  husbands  found  out  at  last  how  their  wives 
had  been  plotting  the  whole  thing  against  them.  Then  they  went 
home  and  did  the  most  sensible  thing  wh:ch  they  ever  had  done  in 
their  lives,  and  if  there  is  anybody  who  likes  to  know  what  that 
was  he  must  go  and  ask  the  birch  rod  over  the  door. 


THE   PARSON   AND  THE    CLERK. 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  parson,  who  was  such  a  bully, 
that  he  screamed  out  a  long  way  off,  when  anybody  carne  driving 
against  him  in  the  main  road  :  "  Out  of  the  way,  out  of  the  way  ! 
Here  comes  the  parson  himself  1 " 

One  day,  when  he  was  driving  along  and  carrying  on  in  this  way, 
he  met  the  king.  "  Out  of  my  way,  out  of  my  way  ! "  he  shouted, 
ever  so  far  off.  But  the  king  drove  straight  on  and  took  no  notice 
of  him,  so  that  time  the  parson  had  to  pull  his  horse  on  one  side. 
When  the  king  came  alongside  him,  he  said  :  "  To-morrow,  you 
will  have  to  appear  at  the  palace,  and  if  you  cannot  answer  the 
three  questions  which  I  will  ask  you,  you  shall  lose  both  your 
gown  and  your  collar,  for  your  pride's  sake." 

That  was  something  different  to  what  the  parson  was  used  to. 
He  could  bawl  and  shout  and  carry  on  terribly,  but  to  bother  his 
brains  with  problems  and  answers  was  out  of  the  question.  So  he 
went  to  the  clerk,  who  they  said  had  a  much  smarter  tongue  than 


THE  PARSON  AND  THE  CLERK. 


20; 


the  parson.  He  told  the  clerk  he  had  no  mind  to  go,  "  for  a  fool 
can  ask  more  than  ten  wise  men  can  answer,"  said  the  parson,  and 
so  he  got  the  clerk  to  go  instead. 

Well,  the  clerk  set  out  and  came  to  the  palace  dressed  in  the 
parson's  gown   and  collar.      The  king  received  him  at  the  door 


with  crown  and  sceptre,  and  was  so  fine  that  he  glittered  a  long 
way  off. 

"  Oh,  you  are  there,  are  you  ?"  asked  the  king. 

Yes,  he  was  there,  sure  enough. 

"  Now,  tell  me  first,"  said  the  king,  "  how  far  is  it  from  east 
to  west  ? " 


2o8         THE  PARSON  AND  THE  CLERK. 

"  Why,  a  day's  journey,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  How  do  you  make  that  out  ? "  asked  the  king. 

"  Well,  don't  you  see,  the  sun  rises  in  the  east  and  sets  in  the 
west,  and  he  does  it  easily  enough  in  a  day,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  king  ;  "  but  tell  me  now,  what  you  think  I 
am  worth,  as  I  stand  here  before  you." 

"  Well,  our  Lord  was  valued  at  thirty  silver  pieces,  and  I  suppose 
I  cannot  put  you  higher  than  twenty-nine,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  So,  so  ! "  said  the  king,  "since  you  are  so  very  clever  at  every- 
thing, tell  me  what  it  is  I  am  thinking  about  just  now  ? " 

"  Why,  you  are  surely  thinking  it  is  the  parson  who  stands  here 
before  you  ;  but  so  help  me,  if  you  don't  think  wrong, — for  I  am 
the  clerk." 

"  Be  off  with  you, — go  home,  and  you  be  the  parson  and  let  him 
be  clerk,"  said  the  king,  and  so  it  was. 


f-AWriJA 


THE    GIANT   AND   JOHANNES    BLESSOM. 


ABOVE  Vaage  parsonage  rises  a  hill  or  small  mountain,  crowned 
with  tall  and  majestic  pine-trees.  It  is  called  the  "  Jutulsberg," 
or  the  giant's  mountain,  by  the  Vaage  people.  It  is  very  steep  and 
is  full  of  deep  dark  crevices.  By  a  freak  of  nature  a  formation  of 
the  rocks,  somewhat  resembling  a  large  gateway,  can  be  seen  in 
one  of  its  most  bare  and  weatherbeaten  sides.  If  you  stand  on 
the  bridge  over  the  wild  Finne  river,  or  on  the  further  side  of  the 
fields,  and  look  up  at  the  gate  above  the  overhanging  garlands  and 
luxuriant  foliage  of  the  weeping  birch  which  grows  out  of  the  fissures 
in  the  rock,  and  if,  in  addition,  you  call  your  imagination  to  your 
assistance,  the  formation  takes  the  appearance  of  a  double  gateway, 
which  at  the  top  is  joined  in  a  gothic  arch. 

Old,  white-stemmed  birch  trees  stand  as  pillars  at  its  sides,  but 
their  lofty  crowns  do  not  reach  up  to  where  the  arch  begins.  If 
the  gateway  extended  into  the  mountain  the  length  of  a  church, 
you  could  put  Vaage  church  with  roof  and  spire  into  it.  It  is 
not  an  ordinary  door  or  gate,  —  it  is  the  entrance  to  the  giant's 

P 


210  THE  GIANT  AND  JOHANNES  BLESSOM. 

castle — the  giant's  gate  as  it  is  called,  under  which  the  biggest 
troll  with  fifteen  heads  can  comfortably  pass  without  bending 
his  neck. 

If  any  one  in  the  olden  days,  when  there  was  more  intercourse 
between  human  beings  and  trolls,  wanted  to  borrow  anything  from 
the  giant,  or  to  speak  with  him  on  other  business,  it  was  customary 
to  throw  a  stone  at  the  gate  and  say  :  "  Open,  Jutul ! " 

One  afternoon,  a  couple  of  years  ago,  I  came  on  a  visit  to  the 
parsonage.  The  family  had  gone  up  to  their  mountain  dairy  and 
there  was  no  one  at  home  but  an  old  peasant,  who,  on  being  re- 
quested to  show  me  the  way,  went  with  me  up  to  the  giant's  gate. 
We  knocked,  but  no  one  came  to  open  it.  It  was  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  the  giant  would  not  receive  us,  or  that  he  at  his 
advanced  age  so  seldom  receives  visitors,  for  if  we  were  to  judge  by 
the  numerous  marks  of  stones  having  been  thrown  at  the  gate,  he 
must  have  been  exceedingly  troubled  with  visits. 

"  One  of  the  last  who  saw  him,"  said  my  companion,  "  was 
Johannes  Blessom,  the  parson's  neighbour.  But  I  should  think  he 
wished  he  never  had  seen  him,"  he  added. 

"  This  Johannes  Blessom  was  once  down  in  Copenhagen  about  a 
lawsuit — for  there  was  no  justice  to  be  had  here  in  the  country  in 
those  days,  and  if  any  one  wished  for  '  fair  play '  there  was  no  help 
for  it  but  to  go  down  there.  His  father,  who  also  had  a  lawsuit, 
did  the  same  thing  before  him.  Well,  it  was  a  Christmas  eve, 
when  Johannes  had  finished  his  business  with  the  grand  folks,  and 
was  ready  to  start  home ;  he  walked  along  the  streets  in  a  gloomy 
mood,  for  he  was  longing  to  be  at  home  up  in  the  far  north,  and 
knew  there  was  no  way  of  getting  home  till  long  after  Christmas. 
Suddenly  a  person,  who  by  his  dress  appeared  to  be  a  peasant  from 
his  own  parish  of  Vaage,  passed  him  in  a  great  hurry.  He  was  a 
big,  tall  man,  with  large  silver  buttons  as  big  as  dollar  pieces  in 
his  white  jacket.  Johannes  thought  he  knew  him,  but  he  walked 
past  him  so  quickly  that  he  did  not  get  a  good  sight  of  his  face. 

'"You  are  in  a  great  hurry,'  said  Johannes. 

" '  Yes,  I  have  to  make  haste,'  answered  the  stranger ;  '  I  have  to- 
be  at  Vaage  to-night ! ' 


THE  GIANT  AND  JOHANNES  BLESSOM.  213 

" '  I  wish  I  could  get  there  as  well/  said  Johannes. 

"  'Well,  you  can  stand  behind  on  my  sledge,'  said  the  stranger, 
'  for  I  have  a  horse  who  does  the  mile  in  twelve  strides.' 

"Johannes  thanked  him  for  the  offer,  went  with  him  to  the  stable, 
and  off  they  started.  Johannes  was  only  just  able  to  stick  on  to 
the  sledge,  for  away  they  went  like  the  wind  through  the  air.  He 
could  neither  see  earth  nor  sky. 

"At  one  place  they  stopped  to  rest.  Johannes  could  not  tell 
where  it  was,  but  just  as  they  were  starting  again  he  saw  a  skull 
on  a  pole.  When  they  had  travelled  some  distance  Johannes  began 
to  feel  cold. 

" '  Ugh  !  I  forgot  one  of  my  mittens  where  we  rested,'  said  he  ; 
'  my  fingers  are  freezing  ! ' 

"  '  You'll  have  to  stand  it,  Johannes  Blessom,'  said  the  stranger, 
'  it  isn't  far  to  Vaage  now.  Where  we  rested  was  half-way ! ' 

"The  stranger  stopped  just  before  they  came  to  the  bridge  over 
the  Finne  river  to  put  Johannes  down. 

" '  You  are  not  far  from  home,  now,'  said  he,  '  and  you  must 
promise  me  not  to  look  behind  you  if  you  hear  any  rumble  or  see 
any  light  around  you.' 

"  Johannes  promised  this  and  thanked  him  for  the  lift.  The 
stranger  proceeded  on  his  way  over  the  Finne  bridge,  and  Johannes 
walked  up  the  hill-side  to  his  farm.  But  all  of  a  sudden  he  heard 
a  rumble  in  the  giant's  mountain,  and  the  road  in  front  of  him  was 
suddenly  lighted  up, — he  thought  he  could  have  seen  to  pick  up  a 
needle.  He  forgot  what  he  had  promised,  and  turned  his  head  to 
see  what  it  was.  The  gate  in  the  mountain  was  wide  open  and 
there  came  a  light  from  it  as  from  many  thousand  candles.  Right 
in  the  middle  of  the  gate  he  saw  the  giant  himself, — it  was  the 
stranger  he  had  been  driving  with.  But  from  that  day,  Johannes 
Blessom's  head  was  all  on  one  side,  and  so  it  remained  as  long  as 
he  lived." 


THE   BOX  WITH  THE  FUNNY  THING   IN    IT. 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  little  boy,  who  was  walking  along 
a  road.  When  he  had  gone  some  distance  he  found  a  box. 
"There  must  be  something  funny  in  that  box,"  he  said  to  himself; 
but  although  he  twisted  and  turned  it  he  was  not  able  to  get  it 
open.  When  he  had  walked  some  distance  farther  he  found  a 
little  key.  He  was  tired,  and  sat  down  by  the  roadside.  He  thought 
it  would  be  great  fun  to  see  if  the  key  fitted  the  box,  for  there  was 
a  little  keyhole  in  it.  He  took  the  little  key  out  of  his  pocket ; 
he  blew  first  into  the  pipe  of  the  key,  and  then  he  blew  into  the 
keyhole ;  he  put  the  key  into  the  keyhole  and  turned  it  round. 
"  Click,"  said  the  lock,  and  when  he  tried  the  lid  the  box  was  open. 
But  can  you  guess  what  there  was  in  the  box  ?  Why,  it  was  a 
calf's  tail,  and  if  the  calf's  tail  had  been  longer  this  tale  would  have 
been  longer  too. 


THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 

THERE  was  once  a  poor,  very  poor  widow,  who  had  an  only  son. 
She  pulled  through  with  the  boy  till  he  was  confirmed ;  but  then 
she  told  him  that  she  could  not  feed  him  any  longer ;  he  would 
have  to  go  out  and  earn  his  own  bread. 

The  lad  wandered  out  into  the  world,  and  when  he  had  walked 
a  day  or  so  he  met  a  stranger. — "  Where  are  you  going  to  ?  "  asked 
the  man. — "I'm  going  out  into  the  world  to  try  and  get  some 
work,"  said  the  lad. — "  Will  you  come  into  my  service  ? "  asked 
the  man. — "  Well,  why  not !  just  as  well  with  you  as  with  anybody 
else,"  -answered  the  lad. — "  You  will  find  it  a  very  good  place," 
said  the  man  ;  "  you  are  only  going  to  keep  me  company  and  do 
nothing  else  besides." 

So  the  lad  went  with  him  home,  and  he  got  plenty  of  food  and 
drink,  and  had  little  or  nothing  to  do  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  he 
never  saw  a  living  soul  come  near  the  man. 

So  one  day  the  man  said  to  him  :  "  I'm  going  away  for  eight 
days,  and  during  that  time  you  will  be  here  all  alone,  but  you  must 
not  go  into  any  of  these  four  rooms  here.  If  you  do  I  will  take 
your  life  when  I  come  back." — No,  said  the  lad,  he  should  not  go 
into  any  of  the  rooms. 

But  when  the  man  had  been  away  three  or  four  days  the  lad 
could  not  help  going  into  one  of  the  rooms.  He  looked  round,  but 
saw  nothing  but  a  shelf  over  the  door,  on  which  lay  a  brier  twig. 
Well,  this  is  surely  something  to  forbid  my  seeing,  thought  the  boy. 

When  the  eight  days  were  gone  the  man  returned. — "  You  haven't 
been  into  any  of  the  rooms,  I  suppose  ?"  said  he. — "No,  not  at 


216  THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 


all,"  said  the  lad. — "  Well,  we  shall  soon  see,"  said  the  man,  and 
with  that  he  went  into  the  room  where  the  lad  had  been.  "  But  I 
find  you  have  been  there  after  all,"  said  the  man,  "  and  now  you 
shall  lose  your  life." 

The  lad  cried  and  begged  for  himself  till  he  got  off  with  his  life; 
but  he  got  a  good  thrashing.  When  that  was  over  they  were  as 
good  friends  as  ever. 

Some  time  afterwards  the  man  went  away  again  ;  he  was  going  to 
stay  away  for  a  fortnight  this  time,  but  first  he  told  the  lad  that  he 
must  not  put  a  foot  in  any  of  the  rooms  where  he  had  not  already 
been  ;  he  might,  however,  go  into  that  room  where  he  had  been. 

Well,  it  happened  just  as  the  last  time,  only  that  the  lad  waited 
eight  days  before  he  went  into  the  second  room.  In  this  room  he 
saw  nothing  but  a  shelf  over  the  door,  and  a  piece  of  rock  and  a 
water-jug  on  it.  Well,  that's  something  to  be  so  afraid  of,  thought 
the  lad  again. 

When  the  man  came  back  he  asked  the  lad  if  he  had  been  into 
any  of  the  rooms. — No,  not  likely,  the  lad  hadn't  been  there  ! — 
"  We  shall  soon  see,1'  said  the  man,  but  when  he  saw  that  the  lad 
had  been  into  one  of  the  rooms  after  all,  he  said  :  "  I  shall  spare 
you  no  longer  now  ;  you  will  lose  your  life  this  time  ! " 

But  the  lad  cried  and  begged  for  himself  again,  and  he  got  off 
with  a  good  thrashing  again,  but  this  time  he  got  as  much  as  he 
could  possibly  stand.  When  he  had  got  over  the  effects  of  the 
thrashing  he  led  the  same  comfortable  life  as  before,  and  he  and 
the  man  were  the  best  of  friends  again. 

Some  time  after  the  man  had  to  go  on  a  journey  again,  and  this 
time  he  should  be  away  for  three  weeks,  and  so  he  said  to  the  lad 
that  if  he  went  into  the  third  room  during  his  absence,  he  would 
not  have  the  slightest  chance  of  escaping  with  his  life. 

When  fourteen  days  had  gone  the  lad  could  not  help  himself; 
but  stole  into  the  third  room  ;  he  saw  nothing  in  there  except 
a  trap-door  in  the  floor.  When  he  lifted  it  up  and  looked  down 
into  the  room  below  he  saw  a  big  copper  kettle  which  stood  there 
and  boiled  and  bubbled  ;  but  he  saw  no  fire  under  it. 

It  would  be  great  fun  to  feel  if  it  is  hot,  thought  the  boy,  and  put 


THE  WIDOW'S  SON.  217 


his  finger  into  the  kettle,  but  when  he  pulled  it  out  again  it  was 
gilded  all  over.  The  boy  scraped  and  washed  it,  but  the  gilding 
would  not  come  off,  so  he  tied  a  rag  round  it,  and  when  the  man 
came  home  and  asked  what  was  the  matter  with  his  finger  the  lad 
said  that  he  had  cut  himself  very  badly.  But  the  man  tore  off  the 
rag,  and  then  he  saw  easily  enough  what  really  ailed  the  finger. 

He  was  at  first  going  to  kill  the  lad ;  but  as  he  began  crying  and 
praying  for  himself  again,  he  gave  him  such  a  sound  thrashing 
instead  that  he  had  to  keep  his  bed  for  three  days,  and  then  the 
man  took  a  jar  down  from  the  wall,  and  rubbed  the  lad  with  some 
of  its  contents  and  he  was  as  well  as  ever  again. 

Before  long  the  man  went  away  again,  and  was  not  coming 
back  for  a  month.  But  he  told  the  lad  that  if  he  went  into  the 
fourth  room  he  must  not  have  any  hope  of  escaping  with  his  life 
that  time. 

For  two  or  three  weeks  the  lad  managed  to  resist  the  temp- 
tation, but  then  he  couldn't  help  himself  any  longer, — he  must 
and  would  go  into  that  room,  and  so  he  did.  There  stood  a  big 
black  horse  in  a  box  by  himself,  and  with  a  manger  of  glowing 
cinders  at  his  head,  and  a  truss  of  hay  at  his  tail.  The  lad 
thought  this  was  altogether  wrong ;  he  changed  them  about  and 
put  the  truss  of  hay  at  the  horse's  head. 

So  the  horse  said  :  "  Since  you  have  such  a  good  heart  that  you 
let  me  have  something  to  eat,  I  will  save  you  from  the  troll,  for 
that's  what  the  man  is  that  you  are  with.  But  now  you  must  go 
up  into  the  room  just  above  here  and  take  a  suit  of  armour  out  of 
those  hanging  there,  and  mind  you  do  not  take  any  of  the  bright 
ones,  but  the  most  rusty  you  see.  Take  that  one !  And 
sword  and  saddle  you  must  look  out  for  yourself  in  the  same 
way." 

The  lad  did  as  he  was  told,  but  it  was  very  heavy  work  to  carry 
it  all  at  once.  When  he  came  back  the  horse  told  him  to  take  all 
his  clothes  off  and  jump  into  the  kettle  which  stood  and  boiled  in 
the  room  below,  and  to  have  a  good  dip  there. 

"  I  shall  be  an  awful  sight  then,"  thought  the  lad,  but  he  did 
as  the  horse  had  told  him.  When  he  had  finished  his  bath  he 


218  THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 


became  handsome  and  smart,  and  as  red  and  white  as  blood 
and  milk,  and  much  stronger  than  before. 

"Do  you  feel  any  different?"  asked  the  horse. — "Yes,"  said 
the  lad. — "  Try  if  you  can  lift  me,"  said  the  horse. — Oh,  yes,  he 
could  do  that ;  and  the  sword,  why,  he  swung  it  about  his  head  as 
if  it  were  nothing  at  all.  "  Now,  put  the  saddle  on  me,"  said  the 
horse,  "  and  put  the  suit  of  armour  on  you,  and  then  don't  forget 
the  brier-twig,  the  piece  of  rock,  the  water-jug,  and  the  jar  of 
ointment,  and  then  we'll  be  off." 

The  lad  had  no  sooner  got  on  the  horse  than  off  they  went  at 
such  a  rate  that  he  couldn't  tell  how  fast  they  got  on.  When  he  had 
been  riding  for  some  time  the  horse  said  to  him  :  "  I  think  I  hear 
a  rumbling  of  something !  Just  look  round  ;  can  you  see  any- 
thing ?  " — "  Yes,  there  are  a  great,  great  many  coming  after  us ; 
at  least  a  score,"  said  the  lad. — "  Well,  that's  the  troll,"  said  the 
horse  ;  "  he  is  coming  after  us  with  his  imps." 

They  rode  on  for  a  while,  until  they  who  were  coming  after 
them  were  close  upon  them.  "  Now  throw  your  brier-twig  over 
your  shoulder,"  said  the  horse,  "  but  throw  it  a  good  distance  be- 
hind me  !"  The  lad  did  so,  and  suddenly  a  big,  close  brier-wood 
grew  up  behind  them.  So  the  lad  rode  a  long,  long  way,  while 
the  troll  had  to  go  home  and  fetch  something  to  hew  his  way 
through  the  wood. 

But  in  a  while  the  horse  said  again  :  "  Look  behind !  Can  you 
see  anything  now  ?  " — "  Yes,  a  great  many,"  said  the  lad  ;  "  as 
many  as  would  fill  a  church." — "  Ah  ha  !  that's  the  troll, — he  has 
taken  more  with  him  this  time.  Throw  the  piece  of  rock  you 
have,  but  throw  it  far  behind  me ! " 

As  soon  as  the  lad  had  done  what  the  horse  had  said,  a  great 
steep  mountain  rose  behind  him,  and  so  the  troll  had  to  go  home 
and  fetch  something  to  mine  his  way  through  the  mountain,  and 
while  the  troll  was  doing  this  the  lad  rode  again  some  distance  on 
his  way.  But  before  long  the  horse  asked  him  to  look  behind  him 
again,  and  then  the  lad  saw  a  crowd  like  a  big  army  in  bright 
armour,  which  glistened  in  the  sun.  "  Ah  ha  !  "  said  the  horse, 
"  that's  the  troll, — now  he  has  got  all  h;s  imps  with  him.  Take  the 


THE  WIDOW'S  SON.  221 

water-jug  and  throw  all  the  water  out  behind  you,  but  mind  you 
do  not  spill  any  of  it  on  me !" 

The  lad  did  as  he  was  told,  but  for  all  the  care  he  took,  he 
happened  to  spill  a  drop  on  the  horse's  flank.  Well,  the  water  he 
threw  behind  him  became  a  great  lake,  but  on  account  of  the 
drop  he  spilled  on  the  horse  he  found  himself  far  out  in  the  water, 
but  the  horse  swam  safely  to  land  with  him.  When  the  trolls 
came  to  the  lake  they  laid  down  to  drink  it  dry,  but  they 
drank  till  they  burst.  "  Now  we  have  got  rid  of  them,"  said 
the  horse. 

So  when  they  had  travelled  a  long,  long  time,  they  came  to  a 
green  plain  in  a  wood.  "  Now  you  must  take  off  your  whole  suit 
of  armour  and  only  put  your  own  ragged  clothes  on,"  said  the 
horse,  "  and  then  take  the  saddle  off  me  and  let  me  go  ;  but  hang 
all  the  things  inside  this  big  hollow  lime-tree  here.  You  must 
then  make  yourself  a  wig  of  pine-moss  and  go  up  to  the  king's 
palace,  which  is  close  by ;  there  you  must  ask  for  service. 
Whenever  you  want  me,  only  come  and  shake  the  bridle,  and 
I'll  come  to  you." 

Yes,  the  lad  did  as  the  horse  had  told  him,  and  when  he  piu 
the  wig  of  moss  on  his  head  he  became  so  ugly,  and  pale,  and 
miserable  looking  that  no  one  would  know  him  again.  He  then 
went  to  the  palace  and  asked  first,  if  he  could  get  some  work  in 
the  kitchen  and  carry  water  and  wood  for  the  cook ;  but  the  cook 
asked  :  "  Why  do  you  wear  that  ugly  wig  ?  Take  it  off  you  !  I 
won't  have  such  a  fright  in  here." — "I  can't  do  that,"  answered 
the  lad,  "  I  am  not  all  right  in  my  head." — "  Do  you  think  I  will 
have  you  here  near  the  food,  if  that's  the  case  ?"  said  the  cook  ; 
"  go  down  to  the  coachman ;  you  are  better  suited  for  cleaning 
out  the  stable." 

But  when  the  coachman  asked  him  to  take  off  his  wig  and  got 
the  same  answer  he  would  not  have  him  either.  "  You  had  better 
go  to  the  gardener,"  he  said  ;  "  you  are  more  fit  for  digging  in  the 
garden."  Yes,  the  gardener  would  take  him,  and  gave  him  leave 
to  stay  with  him,  but  none  of  the  other  servants  would  sleep  with 
him,  so  he  had  to  sleep  by  himself  under  the  steps  of  the  summer- 


222  THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 


house.  It  stood  on  posts,  and  a  high  staircase  led  up  to  it  ;  under 
this  he  put  some  moss  for  a  bed,  and  there  he  lay  as  well  as  he 
could. 

When  he  had  been  some  time  at  the  palace,  it  happened  one 
morning,  just  as  the  sun  was  rising,  that  the  lad  had  taken  off 
his  wig  of  moss  and  was  washing  himself;  he  then  looked  so 
handsome  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  look  at  him. 

The  princess  saw  the  lad  from  her  window,  and  she  thought  that 
she  never  had  seen  any  one  so  handsome.  She  asked  the  gardener 
why  the  lad  slept  out  there  under  the  steps.  "  Oh,  none  of  his 
fellow- servants  will  sleep  with  him,"  said  the  gardener.  "Let  him 
come  up  and  lie  outside  the  door  of  my  chamber,"  said  the  prin- 
cess, "  and  then  I  suppose  they  will  not  think  themselves  too  good 
to  sleep  in  the  same  room  as  he." 

The  gardener  told  the  lad  of  it.  "  Do  you  think  I'll  do  that  ? " 
said  the  lad  ;  "  they  would  say  that  I  was  running  after  the 
princess." — "Yes,  you  are  very  likely  to  be  suspected  of  that," 
said  the  gardener,  "  you  are  so  good-looking  ! " — "  Well,  if  she 
orders  it  so,  I  suppose  I  must  go,"  said  the  lad. 

When  he  was  going  up  stairs  in  the  evening  he  tramped  and 
stamped  so  terribly  that  they  had  to  tell  him  to  walk  more  softly, 
that  the  king  should  not  get  to  know  it.  So  he  lay  down  by  the 
door  and  began  to  snore. 

The  princess  then  said  to  her  maid  :  "Just  go  quietly  to  him 
and  pull  off  his  wig."  The  maid  was  just  going  to  snatch  it  off 
his  head,  when  he  took  hold  of  it  with  both  his  hands  and  said  that 
she  should  not  have  it  ;  and  with  that  he  lay  down  again  and 
began  snoring.  The  princess  gave  the  maid  a  sign  again,  and  that 
time  she  snatched  the  wig  off  him,  and  there  lay  the  lad  so  lovely 
and  red  and  white,  just  as  the  princess  had  seen  him  in  the  morning 
sun.  After  that  the  lad  slept  every  night  outside  the  princess's 
chamber. 

But  before  long  the  king  got  to  hear  that  the  gardener's  boy  lay 
outside  the  princess's  chamber  every  night,  and  he  was  so  enraged 
at  this  that  he  almost  took  the  lad's  life.  He  did  not  do  this, 
however,  but  threw  hi'm  into  the  prison  tower.  He  shut  up  his 


THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 


223 


daughter  in  her  chamber,  and  told  her  she  should  not  have  leave 
to  go  out  day  or  night.  She  cried  and  prayed  for  herself  and  the 
lad,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  king  only  got  more  vexed  at  it. 

In  a  while  a  war  broke  out  in  the  land,  and  the  king  had  to  take 
up  arms  against  another  king,  who  wanted  to  take  the  kingdom 
from  him.  When  the  lad  heard  this  he  asked  the  keeper  to  go  to 
the  king  and  ask  for  a  suit  of  armour  and  a  sword  and  permission 
to  go  to  the  war.  All  laughed  when  the  keeper  delivered  his 
message,  and  asked  the  king  to  give  him  some  old  rusty  suit,  that 
they  might  have  the  fun  of  seeing  this  poor  wretch  going  to  fight 
in  the  war.  So  the  lad  got  permission  and  an  old,  wretched  horse 


in  the  bargain,  who  jogged  along  on  three  legs  and  dragged  the 
fourth  after  him. 

So  they  all  set  out  to  meet  the  enemy  ;  but  they  had  not  got  far 
from  the  palace  before  the  lad  got  stuck  in  a  bog  with  his  nag. 
There  he  sat  and  kicked  away  and  cried  :  "  Gee  up,  gee  up  ! "  to 
his  nag.  All  amused  themselves  at  this  sight,  and  laughed  and 
made  game  of  the  lad  as  they  rode  past. 

But  no  sooner  were  they  out  of  sight  than  the  lad  ran  to  the 
lime-tree,  put  on  his  suit  of  armour,  and  shook  the  bridle.  The 
horse  appeared  at  once,  and  said  :  "  You  do  your  best,  and  I  will 


224 


THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 


do  mine  ! "  When  the  lad  came  up  the  battle  had  already  begun, 
and  the  king  was  in  a  bad  plight  ;  but  the  lad  rushed  into  the 
thick  of  the  fight  and  put  the  enemy  to  flight.  The  king  and  his 
people  wondered  much  who  it  could  be  who  had  come  to  help 
them  ;  but  no  one  came  so  near  him  as  to  be  able  to  talk  to  him, 
and  when  the  battle  was  over  he  was  gone.  When  they  rode 
home,  they  found  the  lad  still  stuck  in  the  bog,  kicking  away  at 
his  three-legged  nag,  and  they  began  laughing  again.  "  Just  look  ! 
there  sits  that  fool  still ! "  they  said. 


The  next  day  when  they  set  out  again,  the  lad  was  still  sitting 
there  ;  they  laughed  again  and  made  game  of  him,  but  no  sooner 
had  they  ridden  past  him,  before  the  lad  ran  to  the  lime-tree,  and 
all  happened  just  as  on  the  first  day.  Every  one  wondered  who 
this  strange  warrior  could  be  that  had  helped  the  king.  No  one, 
of  course,  guessed  it  could  be  the  lad  ! 

When  they  were  on  their  way  home  at  night  and  saw  the  lad 
still  sitting  there  on  his  horse,  they  jeered  at  him  again,  and  one  of 


THE  WIDOW'S  SON.  225 


them  shot  an  arrow  at  him  and  hit  him  in  the  leg.  He  began  to 
cry  and  wail  so  pitiably,  that  the  king  threw  his  pocket-hand- 
kerchief to  him  to  tie  round  the  wound. 

The  third  morning  when  they  set  out,  they  found  the  lad  still 
on  his  nag  in  the  bog.  "  Gee  up,  gee  up !  "  he  was  shouting  to  his 
horse.  "  I  am  afraid  he  will  be  sitting  there  till  he  starves  to 
death,"  said  one  of  the  king's  soldiers,  as  they  rode  past  him,  and 
laughed  at  him  till  they  were  nearly  falling  off  their  horses.  But 
when  they  were  gone,  he  ran  again  to  the  lime-tree,  and  came  up 
to  the  battle  in  the  very  nick  of  time.  That  day  he  killed  the 
king  of  the  enemy,  and  so  the  war  was  all  over. 

When  the  battle  was  over,  the  king  happened  to  discover  his 
handkerchief,  which  the  strange  warrior  had  tied  round  his 
leg,  and  he  had  no  difficulty  then  in  guessing  who  he  was.  They 
received  him  with  great  joy,  and  brought  him  with  them  to  the 
palace,  and  the  princess,  who  saw  him  from  her  window,  became 
so  glad,  that  no  one  could  believe  it,  and  she  exclaimed  joyfully : 
"  There  comes  my  love." 

He  then  took  the  pot  of  ointment  and  rubbed  himself  on  the 
leg,  and  afterwards  he  rubbed  all  the  wounded,  so  that  all  were 
well  there  and  then. 

So  he  married  the  princess,  but  on  the  very  day  when  the 
wedding  took  place,  he  went  down  into  the  stable  to  his  horse,  who 
was  standing  there  quite  sullen  and  dejected  ;  his  ears  hung  down, 
and  he  would  not  eat  anything.  When  the  young  king — for  he 
was  now  made  king,  and  had  got  half  the  kingdom — spoke  to  him 
and  asked  what  was  the  matter  with  him,  the  horse  said  :  "  I  have 
now  helped  you  through,  and  I  do  not  care  to  live  any  longer. 
You  must  take  the  sword  and  cut  my  head  off." 

"  No,  I  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  the  young  king  ;  "  but 
you  shall  have  everything  you  want  and  do  no  more  work." — 
"Well,  if  you  don't  do  as  I  tell  you,"  said  the  horse,  "you  had 
better  look  out  for  your  life,  which  is  in  my  hands  entirely." 
So  the  king  had  to  do  what  was  asked  of  him  ;  but  when  he 
lifted  the  sword  and  was  about  to  strike,  he  felt  so  grieved  that 
he  had  to  turn  his  face  away,  because  he  would  not  see  the  blow ; 

Q 


226  THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 


but  no  sooner  had  he  cut  the  head  off,  than  the  loveliest  prince 
stood  on  the  spot  where  the  horse  had  stood. 

"  Where  in  al]  the  world  did  you  come  from  ? "  asked  the  king. 

"It  was  I  who  was  the  horse,"  answerea  the  prince.  "At  one 
time  I  was  king  in  the  land  where  the  Jung  came  from  that  you 
killed  in  the  battle  yesterday.  It  was  he  who  turned  me  into  a 
horse  and  sold  me  to  the  troll.  But  now  that  he  is  killed,  I  shall 
get  my  kingdom  back  again,  and  you  and  I  will  be  neighbouring 
kings  ;  but  we  will  never  make  war  on  one  another." 

And  no  more  they  did  ;  they  were  friends  as  long  as  they  lived, 
and  they  used  to  go  and  visit  each  other  very  often. 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE 

MOON. 


THERE  was  once  a  poor  tenant  who 
had  many  children,  but  very  little  food 
or  clothes  to  give  them  ;  they  were  all 
pretty  children,  but  the  prettiest  was  the 
youngest  daughter,  who  was  so  lovely 
that  there  was  almost  too  much  of  her 
loveliness. 

So  one  Thursday  evening,  late  in  the 
autumn,  when  there  was  terrible  weather 
and  it  was  dreadfully  dark  out  of  doors, 
and  it  rained  and  blew  as  well  till  the 
wall  creaked,  they  were  all  sitting  by  the 
hearth  busy  with  something  "or  other. 
All  at  once  some  one  knocked  three  times 
on  the  window-pane.  The  goodman 
went  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter ; 
when  he  came  outside  he  saw  a  great 
big  white  bear. 

"  Good  evening  !  "  said  the  white  bear. 
— "  Good  evening! "  said  the  man. — "  Will 
you  give  me  your  youngest  daughter,  and 
I  will  make  you  as  rich  as  you  now  are 
poor,"  said  the  bear. — Yes-,  the  man 

Q  2 


228        EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 

thought  it  would  be  very  nice  to  be  so  rich,  but  he  must  speak 
with  his  daughter  first ;  so  he  went  in  and  told  her  that  a  great 
white  bear  was  outside,  who  promised  that  he  would  make  them 
rich  if  he  could  only  get  her.  She  said  "  No,"  and  would  not 
agree  to  any  such  arrangement ;  so  the  man  went  out  and  arranged 
with  the  white  bear  that  he  should  come  again  next  Thursday 
evening  for  an  answer.  In  the  meantime  they  talked  her  round, 
and  told  her  of  all  the  riches  they  would  come  in  possession  of, 
and  how  fine  she  herself  would  have  it  in  her  new  home  ;  so  at  last 
she  gave  in  to  their  entreaties  and  began  washing  and  mending  her 
few  rags  and  made  herself  look  as  well  as  she  could,  and  was  at 
last  ready  for  the  journey.  Her  baggage,  of  course,  was  not  much 
to  speak  of. 

Next  Thursday  evening  the  white  bear  came  to  fetch  her  ;  she 
got  up  on  his  back  with  her  bundle,  and  away  they  went.  When 
they  had  gone  some  distance  the  white  bear  said :  "  Are  you 
afraid?" — No,  she  wasn't  afraid. — "Well,  only  hold  tight  by  my 
coat  and  there's  no  danger,"  said  the  bear. 

And  so  she  rode  far,  far  away,  and  came  at  last  to  a  big  moun- 
tain. The  white  bear  knocked  at  it  and  a  gate  was  opened,  and 
they  came  into  a  castle  where  there  were  a  great  many  rooms  all 
lit  up  and  gleaming  with  silver  and  gold,  and  amongst  these  was  a 
great  hall,  where  a  table  stood  ready  laid  ;  in  fact,  all  was  so  grand 
and  splendid  that  you  would  not  believe  it  unless  you  saw  it.  So 
the  white  bear  gave  her  a  silver  bell,  which  she  was  to  ring  when- 
ever there  was  anything  she  wanted,  and  her  wishes  would  be 
attended  to  at  once. 

Well,  when  she  had  eaten,  it  was  getting  late  in  the  evening, 
and  she  became  sleepy  after  the  journey,  so  she  thought  she  would 
like  to  go  to  bed.  She  rang  the  bell,  and  had  scarcely  touched  it, 
before  she  was  in  a  room,  where  she  found  such  a  beautiful  bed  as 
any  one  could  wish  for,  with  silken  pillows  and  curtains,  and  gold 
fringes  ;  everything  else  in  the  room  was  made  of  gold  and  silver. 
But  when  she  had  gone  to  bed  and  put  out  the  light,  she  heard 
some  one  coming  into  the  room  and  sitting  down  in  the  big  arm- 
chair near  the  bed.  It  was  the  white  bear,  who  at  night  could 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON.        229 

throw  off  his  shape,  and  she  could  hear  by  his  snoring  as  he  sat 
in  the  chair  that  he  was  now  in  the  shape  of  a  man ;  but  she  never 
saw  him,  because  he  always  came  after  she  had  put  out  the  light, 
and  in  the  morning  before  the  day  dawned  he  was  gone. 

Well,  for  a  while  everything  went  on  happily,  but  then  she  began 
to  be  silent  and  sorrowful,  for  she  went  about  all  day  alone, 
and  no  wonder  she  longed  to  be  home  with  her  parents  and  her 
sisters  and  brothers  again.  When  the  white  bear  asked  what 
ailed  her,  she  said  she  was  so  lonely  there,  she  walked  about  all 
alone,  and  longed  for  her  home  and  her  parents  and  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  that  was  the  reason  she  was  so  sad. 

"But  you  may  visit  them,  if  you  like,"  said  the  white  bear,  "if 
you  will  only  promise  me  one  thing.  You  must  never  talk  alone 
with  your  mother,  but  only  when  there  are  others  in  the  room. 
She  will  take  you  by  the  hand  and  try  to  lead  you  into  a  room  to 
speak  with  you  all  by  yourself ;  but  you  must  not  do  this  by  any 
means,  or  you  will  make  us  both  unhappy,  and  bring  misfortune 
over  us." 

One  Sunday  the  white  bear  came  and  told  her  that  they  were 
now  going  to  see  her  parents.  Away  they  went,  she  sitting  on  his 
back,  and  they  travelled  far  and  long  ;  at  last  they  came  to  a 
grand  white  farmhouse,  where  her  sisters  and  brothers  were  running 
about.  Everything  was  so  pretty  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  it. 

"  Your  parents  are  living  there,"  said  the  bear  ;  "  but  mind  you 
don't  forget  what  I  have  said,  or  you  will  make  us  both  unhappy." 
No,  she  would  not  forget  it.  When  they  came  to  the  farm,  the 
bear  turned  round  and  went  away. 

There  was  such  a  joy  when  she  came  in  to  her  parents  that  there 
was  no  end  to  it.  They  said  they  did  not  know  how  to  thank  her 
fully  for  what  she  had  done  for  them.  They  had  everything  they 
wanted,  and  everybody  asked  after  her  and  wanted  to  know  how 
she  was  getting  on,  and  where  she  "was  living.  She  said  that  she 
was  very  comfortable  and  had  everything  she 'wished  for ;  but  what 
she  otherwise  answered  I  don't  know,  but  I  believe  they  did  not 
^et  much  out  of  her. 

But  one  day  after  dinner  it  happened  exactly  as  the  white  bear 


230        EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 

had  said ;  her  mother  wanted  to  speak  with  her  alone  in  her 
chamber.  But  she  recollected  what  the  bear  had  told  her,  and 
would  not  go  with  her.  "  What  we  have  got  to  talk  about,  we  can 
do  at  some  other  time,"  she  said.  But  somehow  or  other  her 
mother  talked  her  round  at  last,  and  so  she  had  to  tell  her  every- 
thing. She  told  her  how  a  man  came  into  her  room  every  night 
as  soon  as  she  had  put  out  the  light,  and  how  she  never  saw  him, 
for  he  was  always  gone  before  the  day  dawned.  She  was  sorrowful 
at  this,  for  she  thought  she  would  so  like  to  see  him  ;  and  in  the 
day  time  she  walked  about  there  all  alone  and  felt  very  lonely 
and  sad. 

"  Oh,  dear  me  ! "  said  her  mother,  "  it  may  be  a  troll  for  all  we 
know  !  But  I  will  tell  you  how  you  can  get  a  sight  of  him.  You 
shall  have  a  piece  of  a  candle  from  me,  and  this  you  must  take  with 
you  home  in  your  bosom.  When  he  is  asleep,  light  that  candle, 
but  take  care  not  to  drop  any  of  the  tallow  on  him." — Yes,  she  took 
the  candle  and  hid  it  in  her  bosom,  and  in  the  evening  the  white 
bear  came  and  fetched  her. 

When  they  had  gone  some  distance  of  the  way  the  bear  asked 
her  if  everything  hadn't  happened  as  he  had  said.  Yes,  she 
couldn't  deny  that. — "  Well,  if  you  have  listened  to  your  mother's 
advice  you  will  make  us  both  unhappy,  and  all  will  be  over  between 
us,"  said  the  bear. — No,  that  she  hadn't ! 

When  she  came  home  and  had  gone  to  bed,  the  same  thing 
occurred  as  before.  Some  one  came  into  the  room  and  sat  in  the 
arm-chair  by  her  bedside,  but  in  the  middle  of  the  night  when  she 
heard  that  he  was  asleep,  she  got  up  and  struck  a  light,  lit  the 
candle,  and  let  the  light  fall  on  him.  She  then  saw  that  he  was  the 
loveliest  prince  any  one  could  wish  to  see,  and  she  fell  at  once  in 
love  with  him  ;  she  thought  that  if  she  could  not  kiss  him  there  and 
then  she  would  not  be  able  to  live.  And  so  she  did,  but  she 
dropped  three  hot  drops  of  tallow  on  him,  and  he  woke  up. 

"  What  have  you  done  ?  "  he  said,  "  you  have  now  made  us  both 
unhappy  for  ever,  for  if  you  had  only  held  out  one  year  I  should 
have  been  saved.  I  have  a  stepmother  who  has  bewitched  me, 
and  I  am  now  a  white  bear  by  day  and  a  man  by  night.  But  now 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON.        233 

all  is  over  between  us,  and  I  must  leave  you  and  go  back  to  her ; 
she  lives  in  a  castle  which  lies  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon, 
and  in  the  same  castle  there  is  a  princess  with  a  nose  two  yards 
long,  and  now  I  must  marry  her." 

She  wept  and  cried,  b.it  there  was  no  help  for  it ;  he  must  go  and 
leave  her.  So  she  asked  him  if  she  might  not  go  with  him.  No, 
that  was  impossible  ! — "But  if  you  will  tell  me  the  way,  I  will  try 
and  find  you,"  she  said.  "  I  suppose  I  may  have  leave  to  do  that ! " 
— Yes,  she  could  do  that,  he  said,  but  there  was  no  road  to  that 
place  ;  it  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon,  and  she  could 
never  find  her  way  there. 

Next  morning  when  she  awoke,  both  the  prince  and  the  castle 
were  gone ;  che  lay  on  a  little  green  field  far  in  the  middle  of  the 
dark  thick  forest,  and  by  her  side  lay  the  same  bundle  with  her  old 
rags  which  she  had  brought  with  her  from  home.  When  she  had 
rubbed  the  sleep  out  of  her  eyes  and  wept  till  she  was  tired,  she 
set  out  on  her  way  and  walked  for  many,  many  a  day,  till  she  at 
last  came  to  a  big  mountain. 

Close  to  it  an  old  woman  sat  and  played  with  a  golden  apple. 
She  asked  her  if  she  knew  the  way  to  the  prince  who  lived  with  his 
stepmother  in  a  castle  that  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon, 
and  who  was  going  to  marry  a  princess  with  a  nose  two  yards  long. 
— "How  do  you  know  him  ?"  asked  the  old  woman,  "perhaps  it 
was  you  who  should  have  had  him  ? " — Yes,  it  was  she.  "  Ah, 
indeed  !  is  that  you  ?  "  said  the  woman  ;  "  well,  all  I  know  is  that  he 
lives  in  that  castle  which  lies  cast  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon, 
and  thither  you  will  come  late  or  never;  but  I  will  lend  you  my 
horse,  and  on  him  you  can  ride  to  my  neighbour,  an  old  friend  of 
mine ;  perhaps  she  can  tell  you.  When  you  have  got  there,  just 
give  my  horse  a  blow  with  your  whip  under  the  left  ear  and  ask 
him  to  go  home  again  ; — and  you  had  better  take  this  golden  apple 
with  you." 

So  she  got  up  on  the  horse  and  rode  a  long,  long  time  till  she 
at  last  came  to  a  mountain,  where  an  old  woman  was  sitting  with 
a  golden  carding-comb.  She  asked  her  if  she  knew  the  way  to  the 
castle  which  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon.  She 


234        EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 

answered  like  the  first  old  woman,  that  she  didn't  know  anything 
about  it,  but  it  was  sure  to  be  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon, 
"  and  thither  you  will  come,  early  or  late,  but  I  will  lend  you  my 
horse  as  far  as  my  neighbour  ;  perhaps  she  can  tell  you.  When  you 
have  got  there,  just  give  my  horse  a  blow  under  the  left  ear  and  ask 
him  to  go  home  again."  And  the  old  woman  gave  her  the  golden 
carding-comb,  which  might  come  in  useful  for  her. 

The  young  girl  got  up  on  the  horse  and  rode  for  a  long,  long 
weary  time,  and  came  at  last  to  a  large  mountain,  where  an  old 
woman  was  sitting  and  spinning  on  a  golden  spinning-wheel.  She 
asked  her  if  she  knew  the  way  to  the  prince,  and  where  the  castle 
was  that  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon.  And  so  came 
the  same  question  :  "  Perhaps  it  is  you  who  should  have  had  the 
prince  ?  " — Yes,  it  was !  But  the  old  woman  knew  the  way  no 
better  than  the  other  two.  It  was  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the 
moon, — she  knew  that, — "  and  thither  you  will  come,  early  or  late," 
she  said,  "  but  I  will  lend  you  my  horse,  and  then  I  think  you  had 
better  ride  to  the  east  wind  and  ask  him.  Perhaps  he  is  known 
about  those  parts  and  can  blow  you  there.  When  you  have  got 
there,  just  touch  the  horse  under  the  ear  and  he'll  go  home  again." 
And  so  she  gave  her  the  golden  spinning-wheel.  "You  might 
find  use  for  it,"  said  the  old  woman. 

She  rode  on  many  days  for  a  long  weary  time  before  she  got  to 
the  east  wind,  but  after  a  long  time  she  did  reach  it,  and  so  she 
asked  him  if  he  could  tell  her  the  way  to  the  prince,  who  lived  east 
of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon.  Yes,  he  had  heard  tell  of  that 
prince,  said  the  east  wind,  and  of  the  castle  too,  but  he  didn't  know 
the  way  thither,  for  he  had  never  blown  so  far.  "  But  if  you  like, 
I'll  go  with  you  to  my  brother,  the  west  wind.  Perhaps  he  may 
know  it,  for  he  is  much  stronger.  Just  get  up  on  my  back  and  I'll 
carry  you  thither." 

Yes,  she  did  so,  and  away  they  went  at  a  great  speed.  When 
they  got  to  the  west  wind,  they  went  in  to  him,  and  the  east  wind 
told  him  that  his  companion  was  the  one  who  should  have  had  the 
prince  who  lived  in  the  castle,  which  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west 
of  the  moon  ;  she  was  now  on  her  way  to  find  him  again,  and  so  he 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON.        237 

had  gone  with  her  to  hear  if  the  west  wind  knew  where  that 
castle  was. — "  No,  I  have  never  blown  so  far,"  said  the  west  wind, 
"  but  if  you  like  I'll  go  with  you  to  the  south  wind,  for  he  is  much 
stronger  than  any  of  us,  and  he  has  been  far  and  wide  ;  perhaps 
he  may  tell  you.  You  had  better  sit  up  on  my  back  and  I'll  carry 
you  thither." 

Well,  she  got  on  his  back,  and  off  they  started  for  the  south  wind  ; 
they  weren't  long  on  the  way,  I  can  tell  you  !  When  they  got 
there,  the  west  wind  asked  his  brother  if  he  could  tell  him  the  way 
to  that  castle  which  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon. 
His  companion  was  the  one  who  should  have  had  the  prince  who 
lived  there. — "  Oh,  indeed  !  "  said  the  south  wind,  "  is  that  she  ? 
Well,  I  have  been  to  many  a  nook  and  corner  in  my  time,  but  so 
far  I  have  never  blown.  But  if  you  like,  I'll  go  with  you  to  my 
brother,  the  north  wind  ;  he  is  the  oldest  and  strongest  of  all  of  us, 
and  if  he  doesn't  know  where  it  is  you  will  never  be  able  to  find 
any  one  who  can  tell  you.  Just  get  up  on  my  back  and  I'll  carry 
you  thither." 

Yes,  she  sat  up  on  his  back,  and  away  they  went  at  such  a  rate, 
that  the  way  didn't  seem  to  be  very  long. 

When  they  got  to  where  the  north  wind  lived  he  was  so  wild 
and  unruly  that  cold  gusts  were  felt  a  long  way  off.  "  What  do 
you  want  ? "  he  shouted  from  far  away,  but  still  it  made  them 
shiver  all  over. — "  Oh,  you  needn't  be  so  very  harsh,"  said  the 
south  wind,  "it's  I,  your  own  brother;  and  then  I  have  got  her 
with  me  who  should  have  had  the  prince  who  lives  in  that  castle 
which  lies  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon,  and  she  wants  to 
ask  you  if  you  have  ever  been  there  and  if  you  can  tell  her  the 
way.  She  is  so  very  anxious  to  find  him  again." — "Well,  yes,  I  do 
know  where  it  is,"  said  the  north  wind  ;  "  I  once  blew  an  aspen  leaf 
thither,  but  I  was  so  tired  that  I  wasn't  able  to  blow  for  many 
days  after.  But  if  you  really  intend  going  there  and  you  are  not 
afraid  to  come  with  me,  I  will  take  you  on  my  back  and  try  if  I 
can  blow  you  so  far." — Yes,  she  was  willing;  she  must  go  thither, 
if  it  were  possible,  one  way  or  another,  and  she  wasn't  a  bit  afraid, 
go  how  it  would. 


238 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 


"  Very  well !  "  said  the  north  wind,  "you  must  stop  here  to-night 
then,  for  we  must  have  a  whole  day  before  us  and  perhaps  more, 

if  we  are  to  reach  it." 

Early  next  morning 
the  north  wind  called  her, 
and  then  he  blew  him- 
self out  and  made  him- 
self so  big  and  strong 
that  he  was  terrible  to 
look  at.  Away  they 
went,  high  up  through 
the  air  at  such  a  fearful 
speed,  as  if  they  were 
going  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  There  was  such 
a  hurricane  on  land  that 
trees  and  houses  were 
blown  down,  and  when 
they  came  out  on  the  big 
sea  ships  were  wrecked 
by  hundreds.  And  on- 
wards they  swept,  so  far, 
far,  that  no  one  would 
believe  how  far  they  went, 
and  still  farther  and  far- 
ther out  to  sea,  till  the 
north  wind  got  more 
and  more  tired  and  so 
knocked  up  that  he  was 
scarcely  able  to  give  an- 
other blow,  and  was  sink- 
ing and  going  down  more 
and  more ;  and  at  last 
they  were  so  low  that 
the  tops  of  the  billows  touched  their  heels. 

"Are  you  afraid?"  said  the  north  wind. — "No,"  she  said,  she 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON.        239 

wasn't  a  bit  afraid.  But  they  were  not  so  very  far  from  land 
either,  and  the  north  wind  had  just  sufficient  strength  left  to  reach 
the  shore  and  put  her  off  just  under  the  windows  of  the  castle 
which  lay  east  of  the  sun  and  west  of  the  moon  ;  but  he  was  then 
so  tired  and  worn  out  that  he  had  to  rest  for  many  days  before  he 
could  start  on  his  way  home  again. 

Next  morning  she  sat  down  under  the  castle  windows,  and 
began  playing  with  the  golden  apple,  and  the  first  one  she  saw 
was  the  princess  with  the  long  nose,  whom  the  prince  was  going 
to  marry. 

"  What  do  you  want  for  that  golden  apple  of  yours  ? "  she  asked, 
and  opened  the  casement. — "  It  is  not  for  sale,  neither  for  gold  nor 
money,"  said  the  girl. — "  If  it  isn't  for  sale  for  gold  or  money,  what 
do  you  want  for  it  then  ?  "  said  the  princess ;  "  I'll  give  you  what 
you  ask  !  " — "  Well,  if  I  to-night  may  sit  in  the  arm-chair  by  the 
bedside  of  the  prince  who  lives  here,  you  shall  have  it,"  said  the 
girl  who  came  with  the  north  wind. — Yes,  she  might  do  that,  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  about  that. 

So  the  princess  got  the  golden  apple  ;  but  when  the  girl  came  up 
into  the  prince's  bedroom  in  the  evening,  he  was  fast  asleep  ;  she 
called  him  and  shook  him,  and  now  and  then  she  cried  and  wept ; 
but  no,  she  could  not  wake  him  up  so  that  she  might  speak  to  him. 
Next  morning,  as  soon  as  the  day  dawned,  the  princess  with  the 
long  nose  came  and  turned  her  out  of  the  room. 

Later  in  the  day  she  sat  down  under  the  castle  windows  and 
began  carding  with  her  golden  carding-comb,  and  then  the  same  thing 
happened  again.  The  princess  asked  her  what  she  wanted  for  the 
carding-comb,  and  she  told  her  that  it  wasn't  for  sale  neither  for 
gold  nor  money,  but  if  she  might  get  leave  to  sit  in  the  arm-chair 
by  the  prince's  bedside  that  night,  she  should  have  it.  But  when 
she  came  up  into  the  bedroom  she  found  him  fast  asleep  again, 
and  for  all  she  cried  and  shook  him,  for  all  she  wept,  he  slept  so 
soundly  that  she  could  not  get  life  into  him  ;  and  when  the  day 
dawned  in  the  early  morning,  in  came  the  princess  with  the  long 
nose  and  turned  her  out  of  the  room  again. 

So  as  the  day  wore  on,  she  sat  down  under  the  castle  windows 


240        EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 

and  began  spinning  on  the  spinning-wheel,  and  that  the  princess 
with  the  long  nose  wanted  also  to  have.  She  opened  the  casement 
and  asked  the  girl  what  she  wanted  for  it.  The  girl  told  her,  as 
she  had  done  twice  before,  that  it  was  not  for  sale  either  for  gold  or 
money,  but  if  she  might  sit  in  the  arm-chair  by  the  prince's  bed- 
side that  night  she  should  have  it.  Yes,  she  might  do  that.  But 
there  were  some  Christian  people  who  had  been  carried  off  and 
were  imprisoned  in  the  room  next  to  the  prince's,  and  they  had 
heard  that  some  woman  had  been  in  his  room  and  wept  and  cried 
and  called  his  name  two  nights  running,  and  this  they  told  the 
prince. 

In  the  evening,  when  the  princess  came  and  brought  him  his 
drink,  he  made  appear  as  if  he  drank,  but  he  threw  it  over  his 
shoulder,  for  he  felt  sure  she  had  put  a  sleeping  draught  in  his 
drink. 

So  when  the  girl  came  into  his  room  that  night  she  found  the 
orince  wide  awake,  and  then  she  told  him  how  she  had  come  there. 
•'You  have  just  come  in  time,"  said  the  prince,  "for  to-morrow  I 
was  to  be  married  to  the  princess  ;  but  I  won't  have  that  Longnose, 
and  you  are  the  only  one  that  can  save  me.  I  will  say  that  I  shall 
want  to  see  what  my  bride  can  do,  and  if  she  is  fit  to  be  my 
wife;  then  I  will  ask  her  to  wash  the  shirt  with  the  three  tallow 
stains  on  it.  She  will  try,  for  she  does  not  know  that  it  is  you 
who  dropped  the  tallow  on  the  shirt ;  but  that  can  only  be  done  by 
Christian  folks,  and  not  by  a  pack  of  trolls  like  we  have  in  this 
place;  and  so  I  will  say  that  I  will  not  have  anybody  else  for  a 
bride  except  the  one  who  can  wash  the  shirt  clean,  and  I  know 
you  can  do  that."  And  they  felt  very  glad  and  happy,  and 
they  went  on  talking  all  night  about  the  joyful  time  in  store 
for  them. 

The  next  day,  when  the  wedding  was  to  take  place,  the  prince 
said:  "I  think  I  must  see  first  what  my  bride  can  do  !"— "  Yes, 
quite  so!"  said  the  stepmother.—  "!  have  got  a  very  fine  shirt, 
which  I  am  going  to  use  for  my  wedding  shirt ;  but  there  are  three 
tallow  stains  on  it  which  I  want  washed  out ;  and  I  have  made  a 
vow  that  I  will  not  take  any  other  woman  for  a  wife  than  the  one 


EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 


241 


who  is  able  to  do  that ;  if  she  cannot  do  that,  she  is  not  worth 
having,"  said  the  prince.  "Well,  that  was  easy  enough,"  said 
the  stepmother  and  agreed  to  this  trial.  Well,  the  princess 
with  the  long  nose  set  to  washing  the  best  she  could,  but  the 
more  she  washed  the  bigger  grew  the  stains.  "Why,  you  can- 
not wash,"  said  the  old  witch,  her  step-mother ;  "  let  me  try  ! " 
—but  no  sooner  did  she  take  the  shirt  than  it  got  still  worse, 
and  the  more  she  washed  and  rubbed  the  bigger  and  blacker  the 
stains  grew. 

So  did  the  other  trolls  try  their  hands  at  washing,  but  the  longer 


they  worked  at  it  the  dirtier  the  shirt  grew,  till  at  last  it  looked  as 
if  it  had  been  up  the  chimney.  "  Ah,  you  are  not  worth  anything, 
the  whole  lot  of  you  !  "  said  the  prince ;  "  there's  a  poor  girl  under 
the  window  just  outside  here,  and  I  am  sure  she  can  wash  much 
better  than  any  of  you.  Come  in,  my  girl !  "  he  shouted  out  to 
her. — Yes,  she  would  come  in. — "  Can  you  wash  this  shirt  clean  ?  " 
asked  the  prince. — "  Well,  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "  but  I  will 
try." 

And  no  sooner  had  she  taken  the  shirt  and  dipped  it  in  the 
water,  than  it  was    as   white  as  the  driven   snow,  if  not  whiter. 

R 


242        EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST  OF  THE  MOON. 

"  Yes,  you  shall  be  my  wife,"  said  the  prince.  But  the  old  witch 
flew  into  such  a  rage  that  she  burst ;  and  the  princess  with  the 
long  nose  and  all  the  trolls  must  have  burst  also,  for  I  never  heard 
of  them  since.  The  prince  and  his  bride  then  set  free  all  the 
people  who  had  been  carried  off  and  imprisoned  there,  and  so  they 
took  as  much  gold  and  silver  with  them  as  they  could  carry,  and 
moved  far  away  from  the  castle  which  lay  east  of  the  sun  and 
west  cf  the  moon. 


ASHIEPATTLE    WHO    MADE   THE   PRINCESS 
TELL   THE  TRUTH    AT    LAST. 

THERE  was  once  upon  a  time  a  king,  who  had  a  daughter,  and 
she  was  such  an  awful  story-teller,  that  you  couldn't  find  a  greater 
anywhere.  So  the  king  made  known,  that  if  any  one  could 
outdo  her  in  telling  stories  and  make  her  tell  the  truth,  he  should 
have  her  for  a  wife  and  half  the  kingdom  in  the  bargain. 

There  were  many  who  tried,  for  everybody  would  be  glad  to  get 
the  princess  and  half  the  kingdom,  but  they  all  fared  badly. 

R  2 


244  ASHIEPATTLE   AND   THE   PRINCESS. 


Well,  there  were  three  brothers,  who  were  also  going  to  try  their 
luck,  and  the  two  elder  set  out  first,  but  they  fared  no  better  than 
all  the  others.  So  Ashiepattle  thought  he  would  try,  and  set  out 
for  the  palace. 

He  met  the  princess  outside  the  cow-house.  "  Good  day,"  said 
he> — «  Good  day,"  said  she  ;  "  I  suppose  you  haven't  got  such  a  big 
cow-house  as  we.  When  two  boys  stand,  one  at  each  end,  and 
blow  their  horns,  they  can't  hear  each  other  ! " — "  Oh,  indeed,"  said 
Ashiepattle,  "ours  is  a  great  deal  bigger!  If  a  young  calf  starts 
to  go  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  he  is  a  big  bull  by  the  time 
he  comes  out." 

"  May  be,"  said  the  princess  ;  "  but  then  you  haven't  got  so  big 
a  bull  as  we  have  Look,  there  he  is  ! — When  two  men  sit,  one 
on  each  horn,  they  can't  touch  each  other  with  a  yard  measure. " — 
"  Why,  that's  nothing,"  said  Ashiepattle  ;  "  we  have  a  bull  so  big, 
that  when  two  men  sit,  one  on  each  horn,  and  blow  their  horns, 
they  can't  hear  each  other. " 

"  Oh,  indeed,"  said  the  princess,  "  but  you  haven't  got  so  much 
milk  as  we  anyhow,  for  we  milk  our  cows  into  great  tubs  and 
empty  them  into  great  big  coppers,  and  make  such  awful  big 
cheeses." 

"  Well,  we  milk  into  great  big  casks,  which  we  cart  into  the 
dairy,  and  put  the  milk  into  great  brewing  vats  and  make  cheeses 
as  big  as  houses.  Once  we  had  a  cream-coloured  mare,  which  we 
put  into  the  vat  to  tread  the  cheese  together,  and  she  had  her  foal 
with  her,  but  one  day  she  lost  the  foal  in  the  cheese  and  we 
couldn't  find  it.  But  after  we  had  been  eating  the  cheese  for  seven 
years,  we  came  across  a  great  big  cream-coloured  horse  who  was 
walking  about  in  the  cheese.  I  was  going  to  drive  that  horse  to 
the  mill  one  day  and  all  of  a  sudden  his  back  broke  right  off;  but 
I  knew  how  to  put  that  right.  I  took  a  pine-twig  and  stuck  it  in 
his  back,  and  he  had  no  other  back-bone  as  long  as  we  had  him. 
But  that  twig  grew  and  grew  so  tall,  that  I  climbed  right  up  to  the 
clouds  by  it,  and  when  I  got  there  I  saw  the  north  wind  sitting 
there  spinning  a  rope  of  mutton  broth.  Suddenly  the  top  of  the 
pine-tree  broke  ofif,  and  there  I  was.  But  the  north  wind  let  me 


ASHIEPATTLE  AND   THE   PRINCESS. 


247 


down  by  one  of  the  ropes,  and  I  came  right  into  a  fox's  hole ;  and 
who  do  you  think  were  sittting  there  ? — Why,  my  mother  and  your 
father  of  course,  both  mending  boots  ;  and  all  of  a  sudden  my 
mother  -gave  your  father  such  a  blow  with  an  old  boot,  that  the 
scurf  flew  out  of  his  hair  !  " 

"  There  you  tell  a  lie,"  shouted  the  princess ;  "  my  father  never 
was  scurfy ! " 

And  so  Ashiepattle  won  ! 


AN    EVENING    IN    THE   SQUIRE'S    KITCHEN. 


IT  was  a  miserable  evening  ;  outside  it  was  snowing  and  blowing, 
and  in  the  squire's  parlour  the  candle  burned  so  dimly  that  you 
could  scarcely  distinguish  anything  in  the  room  but  a  clock-case 
with  some  Chinese  ornaments,  a  large  mirror  in  an  old-fashioned 
frame,  and  a  silver  family  tankard.  The  squire  and  I  were  the 
only  occupants  of  the  room.  I  sat  in  a  corner  of  the  sofa  with  a 
book  in  my  hand,  while  the  squire  himself  had  taken  a  seat  in  the 
other  corner  buried  in  the  perusal  of  the  manuscript  of  a  political 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 


249 


treatise,  which  he  had  called  :  "  Attempts  at  a  few  well-meant 
patriotic  utterances  for  the  welfare  of  my  country,  by  Anonymous," 
as  he  called  himself  out  of  modesty. 

To  the  profound  study  of  this  intellectual  gold  mine,  many 
shrewd  opinions,  as  might  easily  be  imagined,  owed  their  birth. 
That  he  himself,  at  least,  was  convinced  of  their  excellence,  the 
cunning  look  in  the  grey  blinking  eyes  which  he  directed  towards 
me  left  me  no  doubt  ;  there  was,  however,  no  want  of  "  well-meant 


/t  Jc. 


patriotic  utterances  "  in  his  conversation,  the  quality  of  which  can 
best  be  judged  by  those  who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  glancing 
over  the  above-named  treatise,  or  his  large  unprinted  essay  about 
the  tithes.  But  all  this  display  of  wisdom  was  lost  upon  me  ; 
I  had  it  at  my  fingers'  ends,  having  now  heard  it  for  the  twenty- 
third  time.  I  am  not  endowed  with  the  patience  of  an  angel ;  but 
what  could  I  do  ?  The  retreat  to  my  room  was  cut  off, — they  had 
been  washing  the  floor  for  Sunday,  and  the  room  was  no  doubt 
steaming  with  vapour  from  the  damp  boards.  Having  made  a 


250  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 


few  vain  attempts  at  engrossing  my  attention  in  my  book,  I  was 
obliged  to  let  myself  be  carried  away  by  the  impetuous  torrent  of 
the  squire's  eloquence.  The  squire  was  now  on  his  hobby-horse,  as 
we  say  ;  he  had  placed  the  old  worn  fur  cap  by  his  side  on  the  sofa, 
leaving  his  bald  head  and  grey  hairs  exposed.  He  became  more 
and  more  excited  ;  he  rose  from  the  sofa,  walked  up  and  down  the 
floor  with  hurried  steps  and  fought  with  his  hands  in  the  air,  till 
the  light  flickered  hither  and  thither,  while  the  sweeping  tail  of  his 
long  grey  home-spun  coat  described  long  circles  every  time  he 
swung  himself  round  and  raised  himself  on  his  longer  leg,  for, 
like  Tyrtaeus  and  Peter  Solvold  of  our  parish,  he  was  afflicted 
with  a  limp.  His  impassioned  words  buzzed  about  my  ears  like 
cockchafers  round  the  top  of  the  lime-trees.  He  thundered  away 
about  lawsuits  and  judgments  in  the  High  Court  of  Justice,  about 
disputes  with  the  Court  of  Chancery,  about  clearing  out  the  forests, 
about  luxury,  the  rule  of  the  majority  in  the  national  assembly, 
and  the  blowing  up  of  the  rocks  in  the  Morkefos,  about  the  corn 
duty  and  the  cultivation  of  the  Joedern  district,  about  industries 
and  centralisations,  about  the  insufficiency  of  the  currency,  about 
official  aristocracy  and  all  other  "  ocracies  "  in  the  world,  from  King 
Nebuchadnezzar  down  to  Peter  Solvold's  democracy. 

It  was  impossible  to  endure  the  jargon  and  the  affected  pathos 
of  the  squire  any  longer.  Out  in  the  kitchen  one  peal  of  laughter 
succeeded  another;  Kristen,  the  smith  on  the  farm,  was  the 
spokesman  out  there — he  had  evidently  just  finished  a  story,  and 
another  hearty  laugh  echoed  through  the  room. 

"  No,  I  must  go  out  and  hear  what  the  smith  is  telling,"  I  said, 
interrupting  the  eloquent  squire,  aad  made  a  dart  for  the  kitchen, 
leaving  him  behind  in  the  room  in  company  with  the  dimly  burning 
candle  and  his  own  disturbed  reflections. 

"  Stuff  and  nonsense,  and  lying  rigmaroles !  "  he  growled,  as  I 
vanished  through  the  door  ;  "  it's  a  disgrace  to  see  learned  people — 
But  well-meant  patriotic  words,  no "  I  heard  no  more. 

Light,  life,  and  merriment  prevailed  in  the  lofty  airy  kitchen.  A 
great  fire  blazed  on  the  large  open  hearth  and  lighted  up  the  room 
even  in  its  farthest  corners.  By  the  side  of  the  hearth  presided  the 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  251 

squire's  wife  with  her  spinning-wheel.  Although  she,  for  many 
years  had  waged  continual  war  against  rheumatism,  her  pleasant 
face  shone  like  the  full  moon  from  under  the  white  head-gear, 
while  she  had  protected  herself  against  any  possible  attack  of  the 
enemy  by  a  multiplicity  of  petticoats  and  jackets  ;  and  as  an  outer 
fortification  she  had  put  on  a  monster  of  a  frieze  cloak.  Along  the 
edge  of  the  hearth  sat  the  children,  and  cracked  nuts.  Round 
about  them  was  a  circle  of  girls  and  wives  of  the  neighbouring 
tenants  ;  "  they  trod  the  spinning-wheels  with  diligent  feet,  or 
were  using  the  scraping  carding-combs,"  as  an  author  has  it. 
In  the  passage  outside  the  door,  the  threshers,  who  had  done 
their  day's  work,  were  stamping  the  snow  off  their  feet  before 
they  came  in, — their  hair  full  of  chaff.  They  sat  down  by 
the  big  old-fashioned  table,  where  the  cook  soon  brought  them 
their  supper,  consisting  of  a  large  dish  of  thick  porridge  and  a  bowl 
of  milk. 

The  smith  was  leaning  against  the  wall  by  the  hearth  ;  he  was 
smoking  a  long  cutty-pipe,  and  on  his  countenance,  which  bore 
traces  of  smithy-soot,  lay  a  dry,  serious  expression,  which  told  he 
had  been  telling  some  story,  and  that  to  his  own  satisfaction. 

"  Good  evening,  Kristen,"  said  I  ;  "  what  are  you  telling  that 
creates  such  fun  ?  " 

"  Hee,  hee,  hee ! "  screamed  the  youngsters,  with  great  glee 
depicted  in  their  faces ;  "  Kristen  has  told  us  about  the  smith  and 
the  devil,  and  then  about  the  lad  who  got  him  into  the  nut,  and 
now  he  says  he's  going  to  tell  us  about  Peter  Sannum,  whose  horse 
the  fairies  stopped  on  the  Asmyr  hill." 

"Yes,"  began  the  smith,  "that  Peter  belonged  to  one  of  the  San- 
num farms  north  of  the  church.  He  was  a  wise  man,  and  he  was 
often  fetched  with  sledge  and  horse  to  cure  both  man  and  beast, 
just  like  old  Mother  Bertha  Tuppenhaug  here.  But  somehow  or 
other  he  could  not  have  been  clever  enough,  for  the  fairies  tied  him 
up  once  in  a  field  near  his  farm,  where  he  had  to  stand  the  whole 
night  with  his  mouth  all  on  one  side  ;  and  that  time  I  was  going  to 
tell  you  about  he  fared  no  better  either.  You  see,  this  Peter  could 
never  agree  with  people,  he  was  just  like — ahem  ! — hem  !— well  yes, 


252  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

he  was  a  regular  disagreeable  fellow,  who  had  lawsuits  with  every- 
body. Well,  he  had  once  a  case  before  the  Court  of  Appeal  in 
Christiania,  and  he  had  to  be  in  court  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
He  thought  he  had  better  start  from  home  the  evening  before  to 
be  in  time,  which  he  did  ;  but  when  he  came  to  the  Asmyr  hill  his 
horse  was  stopped.  There  is  something  not  quite  right  there- 
abouts ;  many  years  ago  some  one  hung  himself  there,  and  there 
are  many  who  have  heard  music  there,  both  on  fiddles  and  clario- 
nettes  and  flutes  and  other  wind  instruments.  Yes,  old  Mother 
Bertha  could  tell  something  about  that  ;  she  has  heard  it  and  she 
says  she  never  heard  anything  so  beautiful,  it  was  just  like  the 
grand  band  which  was  over  at  the  bailiff's  in  1814.  Isn't  that 
true,  Bertha  ? "  asked  the  smith. 

"Yes,  every  word  of  it,  my  lad,"  said  Mother  Bertha,  who  was 
sitting  near  the  hearth  carding. 

"  Well,  as  I  told  you,  the  horse  was  stopped,"  continued  the 
smith,  "  and  it  would  not  move  from  the  spot.  For  all  he  whipped 
and  shouted  the  horse  only  danced  round  in  a  ring,  but  he  couldn't 
get  him  to  move  either  forward  or  backward.  Hour  passed  after 
hour,  but  there  the  horse  stood — and  thus  the  whole  night  through. 
He  knew  some  one  must  be  holding  the  horse,  for  although  he 
cursed  and  went  on  at  an  awful  rate,  he  did  not  get  a  step  farther. 
Towards  the  morning,  just  in  the  grey  dawn,  he  got  off  the  horse 
and  went  up  to  Ingebret  Asmyr,  and  got  him  to  bring  a  firebrand 
with  him,  and  when  he  had  got  in  the  saddle  again,  he  asked 
him  to  throw  the  firebrand  over  the  horse.  I  should  say  he  got 
a  start  then  ;  away  he  went  at  full  gallop  ;  Peter  could  scarcely 
stick  to  the  horse,  and  did  not  stop  till  he  reached  town  •.  "but 
then  the  horse  was  burst." 

"I  have  heard  of  this  before,"  said  old  Bertha,  and  left  off 
carding;  "but  I  would  never  believe  th  it  Peter  Sannum  didn't 
know  better  than  that :  but  since  you,  Kristen,  say  so,  I  suppose 
I  must  believe  it." 

"  Yes,  you  may,"  answered  the  smith ;  "  for  I  heard  it  from 
Ingebret  Asmyr  himself,  who  carried  the  firebrand  and  threw  it 
over  the  horse  for  him." 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  253 

"  He  should  have  looked  down  over  the  horse's  head  between 
the  ears,  shouldn't  he,  Bertha  ? "  asked  one  of  the  boys. 

"  Yes,  that  he  should,"  answered  Bertha ;  "  for  then  he  would 
have  seen  who  held  the  horse,  and  then  they  would  have  had  to  let 
his  horse  go.  I  have  heard  that  from  one  who  knew  more  about 
such  things  than  anybody  ;  they  called  him  'Hans  Cheerful '  at  home 
in  Halland.  In  other  parishes  they  called  him,  '  Hans  Decency,' 
for  he  always  used  the  expression,  'everything  with  decency.'  He 
was  taken  into  the  mountain  by  the  fairies,  and  had  been  with 
them  for  many  years,  and  at  last  they  wanted  him  to  marry  their 
daughter,  who  was  always  hanging  about  after  him.  But  this  he 
wouldn't,  and  when  he  had  been  rung  for  from  several  churches,1  the 
fairies  took  him  at  last  and  threw  him  from  a  high  knoll  far  out 
into  the  parish.  He  thought  himself  he  would  have  gone  right  out 
into  the  fjord.  From  that  time  he  became  half-witted.  He  was  then 
put  out  on  the  parish,  and  went  from  farm  to  farm  and  told  all  sorts 
of  wonderful  stories,  but  all  of  a  sudden  he  would  laugh  and  say : 

"  '  Hee,  hee,  hee !  Kari,  Karina,  I  see  you ! '  for  the  huldre 
girl  was  always  after  him. — While  he  was  with  the  fairies,  he 
told  us,  he  had  always  to  go  with  them  when  they  were  out  to 
provide  themselves  with  food  and  milk,  for  everything  which  the 
sign  of  the  cross  had  been  made  over  they  had  no  power  to  touch, 
and  then  they  said  to  Hans  :  '  You'll  have  to  take  this,  for  this  has 
been  crossed,'  and  so  he  filled  their  bags  with  tremendous  loads  of 
all  sorts  of  food  :  but  if  it  ever  began  to  thunder,  they  used  to  run 
away  as  fast  as  they  could,  so  Hans  could  scarcely  follow  them. 
He  was  generally  in  company  with  one  called  Vaatt,  and  he  was  so 
strong,  that  he  took  both  Hans  and  his  load  and  carried  them 
under  his  arms  when  such  weather  came  upon  them  suddenly. 
Once  they  met  the  sheriff  of  Ringerike  in  a  deep  valley  up  in 
Halland,  and  Vaatt  took  hold  of  the  horse  and  stopped  him,  and 
the  sheriff  shouted  and  whipped  and  pulled  the  poor  horse  about 
till  he  was  pitiful  to  look  at.  But  the  sheriffs  boy  got  off  the  sledge 
and  looked  over  the  horse's  head  between  the  ears,  and  then  Vaatt 

1  It  was  an  old  custom  to  ring  the  bells  of  the  parish  church  if  any  one  wai 
supposed  to  have  been  carried  off  into  the  mountains  by  the  fairies.  * 


254  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

had  to  let  go  his  hold,  '  and  I  should  say  they  went  off  then,'  said 
Hans,  '  the  boy  had  scarcely  time  to  get  on  the  sledge  again,  and 
we  burst  out  with  such  laughter,  that  the  sheriff  turned  round  and 
looked  behind '  " 

"  Yes,"  said  a  tenant  from  a  distant  part  of  the  parish,  "  I  have 
heard  something  like  that  about  a  parson  in  Lier.  He  was  once  on 
his  way  to  an  old  woman,  who  was  on  her  death-bed  and  who  had 
led  a  wicked  life.  When  he  got  into  the  forest  his  horse  was 
stopped  for  him  ;  but  he  knew  what  to  do, — he  was  a  smart  fellow 
that  Lier  parson, — in  one  jump  he  was  up  on  the  back  of  the  horse, 
and  looked  over  his  head  between  his  ears,  and  then  he  saw  an 
ugly  old  man,  who  was  holding  the  reins.  They  say,  it  was  old 
Nick  himself. 

"  '  Leave  go, — you  sha'n't  have  her/  said  the  parson.  He  had  to 
leave  go,  but  he  gave  the  horse  such  a  smart  blow  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  horse  started  off  at  such  a  pace  that  the  sparks  flew 
about  under  his  hoofs,  and  the  boy  could  scarcely  stick  on  to  the 
sledge.  That  time  the  parson  came  riding  on  horseback  to  a  dying 
parishioner." 

"  But  I  don't  know  how  it  will  fare  with  the  cows,  ma'am,"  said 
Mary,  the  dairymaid,  who  came  toiling  in  with  a  pail  of  milk  ;  "  I 
do  believe  they'll  starve.  Just  look  here,  ma'am,  what  little  milk 
we  get." 

"  You  must  take  hay  from  the  stable,  Mary,"  said  the  squire's 
wife. 

"  Yes,  I  ought  to  try  that ! "  answered  Mary ;  "  if  I  go  there,  the 
men  get  as  savage  as  wild  geese." 

"  I'll  give  you  a  good  piece  of  advice,  Mary,"  said  one  of  the  boys 
with  a  sly  look.  "  You  must  boil  cream-porridge  and  put  it  in  the 
stable-loft  every  Thursday  night,  and  you  will  find  that  the  brownie 
helps  you  to  carry  hay  to  the  cows,  while  the  men  are  asleep." 

"  Well,  yes,  if  there  only  were  any  brownie  here,  I  would  do  it," 
answered  the  old  dairymaid  quite  innocently  ;  "  but  believe  me,  there 
is  no  brownie  on  this  farm  ;  why,  our  master  and  mistress  don't 
believe  in  such — no,  on  Noes  with  the  captain's,  that  time  I  served 
there,  there  was  the  brownie  sure  enough  ! " 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  255 


"  How  do  you  know  that,  Mary  ?  "  asked  the  squire's  wife.  "  Did 
you  see  him  ?  " 

"  See  him  ?  yes,  of  course  ;  I've  seen  him,  sure  enough,"  answered 
Mary. 

"  Oh,  tell  us,  tell  us  all  about  it,"  shouted  the  boys. 

"  Well,  yes  !  I  can  do  that,"  said  the  dairymaid  and  began  : 

"  When  I  was  in  service  at  the  captain's  I  told  you  of,  the  stable- 
boy  said  to  me  one  Saturday  night : 

"  '  If  you'll  fodder  the  horses  for  me  to-night,  Mary,  I'll  do  you  a 
good  turn  some  day.' 

"  '  All  right,'  said  I, '  I'll  do  that  for  you,'  for  he  was  going  to  see 
his  sweetheart,  you  know. 

"  So  towards  evening  when  the  horses  should  have  their  fodder, 
and  I  had  given  it  to  a  co  iple  of  them,  I  took  an  armful  of  hay  to 
give  to  the  captain's  own  horse, — he  was  always  so  fat  and  glossy, 
you  could  almost  see  yourself  in  his  shiny  coat, — but  just  as  I  was 
going  into  the  box  to  him,  he  fell  right  into  my  arms " 

"  Who,  who  ?  the  horse  ?  "  asked  the  boys. 

"  No,  of  course  not !  It  was  the  brownie  ;  I  got  so  frightened, 
that  I  dropped  the  hay  on  the  spot  and  ran  away  as  fast  as  I  could. 
When  Peter,  the  lad,  came  home,  I  said  to  him  :  '  I  have  foddered 
the  horses  for  you  once,  my  dear  Peter,  but  believe  me,  I  sha'n't  do 
it  again.  The  captain's  horse  didn't  get  as  much  as  a  straw,  he 
didn't ! '  and  so  I  told  him  all  about  it. 

"  'Ah,  that  didn't  matter  a  bit,'  said  Peter,  'the  captain's  horse 
has  got  some  one  that  looks  after  him  anyhow,  he  has  ! ' ' 

"  What  did  the  brownie  look  like,  Mary  ? "  asked  one  of 
the  boys. 

"  Well,  you  see,  I  didn't  see  him  exactly  ?  "  she  said,  "  it  was  so 
dark  I  couldn't  see  a  hand  before  me,  but  I  felt  him  as  plainly 
as  now,  when  I  touch  you  ;  he  was  hairy,  and  didn't  his  eyes 
glisten  ? " 

"  Oh,  it  was  only  a  cat !  "  objected  another  of  the  boys. 

"  Cat  ? "  said  Mary  with  the  greatest  contempt,  "  why,  I  felt  every 
one  of  his  fingers  ;  he  had  only  four,  and  they  were  hairy  all  over  ! 
If  that  wasn't  the  brownie,  may  I  never  leave  this  spot  alive  !  " 


256 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 


"  Of  course,  that  must  have  been  the  brownie  sure  enough,"  said 
the  smith ;  "  for  he  hasn't  got  any  thumbs,  and  he's  hairy  on  his 
fists — I've  never  shaken  hands  with  him,  but  I've  heard  say  so ; 
and  we  all  know  he  minds  the  horses,  and  is  about  the  best  stable- 


boy  you  could  have.  There  are  a  great  many  he  is  very  useful  to  ; 
but  it's  not  only  he  that  may  be  useful  to  the  farmers,  for  up  in 
Ullensaker,"  he  said,  as  he  began  a  new  story,  "  there  was  a  man 
who  once  found  the  fairies  just  as  useful  to  him  as  the  brownie  is  to 
others.  He  lived  on  Rogli  farm,  and  knew  well  enough  that  the 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  259 

huldre  was  there,  for  once  when  he  was  going  to  town — it  was  in  the 
spring  just  as  the  snow  was  melting  away  on  the  roads — and  had  got 
as  far  as  Skjoellebcek  and  had  watered  his  horses,  he  met  a  herd  of 
red  cows,  so  big  and  fat  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  look  at  them,  and 
after  them  came  several  cartloads  of  tubs  and  buckets  and  all  sorts 
of  things,  with  fine  fat  horses  for  the  carts ;  but  in  front  went 
a  fine  lassie  with  a  snow-white  milking  pail  in  her  hand. 

"  '  But  where  are  you  going  to,  this  time  of  the  year  ? '  asKed  the 
Rogli  man,  surprised. 

" '  Oh,  we  are  going  to  the  Rogli  pastures  in  Ullensaker,' 
answered  she  who  went  in  front ;  '  there  is  plenty  of  grass  there.' 

"He  thought  it  was  rather  strange  that  they  were  going  to  graze 
on  his  pastures,  but  no  one  else  but  he  either  saw  or  heard  any- 
thing of  them.  He  asked  several  whom  he  met  on  the  road,  but 
no  one  had  seen  any  cattle. 

"  At  home  on  his  farm  several  strange  things  nappened  too,  some- 
times. If  he  did  any  work  after  sunset  it  was  always  destroyed 
during  the  night,  and  at  last  he  had  to  give  up  working  after  the 
sun  had  set. 

"  But  now  I  must  tell  you  about  that  time  I  told  you  they  did 
him  a  good  turn.  One  autumn  he  was  walking  about  in  his  fields, 
feeling  if  his  crop  of  barley  was  dry  ;  it  was  very  late  in  the  autumn 
and  he  thought  it  wasn't  quite  dry  enough  to  cart  it  in  yet,  but 
then  he  heard  a  voice  over  in  a  hill  saying  quite  plainly :  '  You 
had  better  cart  in  your  crops  !  To-morrow  it  '11  be  snowing ! ' 
And  he  began  carting  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  carted  till  long  past 
midnight,  till  he  got  his  crop  in  ;  but  the  next  morning  the  snow 
lay  shoe-deep  in  the  fields." 

"  But  it  is  not  always  that  the  fairies  are  so  good,"  said  one  of 
the  boys.  "  What  about  the  huldre  who  stole  the  wedding  fare  at 
Eldstad,  and  left  her  cup  behind  her  ?  " 

"Yes,  I'll  tell  you  all  about  that,"  said  the  smith,  who  eagerly 
took  this  hint  to  begin  a  new  story. 

"  There  was  once  a  wedding  at  Eldstad  in  Ullensaker,  but  as 
they  hadn't  any  oven  on  the  farm,  they  had  to  send  the  joints  to 
the  neighbouring  farm,  where  they  had  an  oven,  to  get  them 

S   2 


2<5o  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

roasted.  In  the  evening,  the  boy  on  the  farm,  where  the  wedding 
took  place,  was  to  fetch  them.  As  he  was  driving  over  one  of  the 
moors,  he  plainly  heard  a  voice  shouting — 

"  '  If  you  are  going  to  Eldstad, 
Just  tell  our  Deld,  from  her  sire, 
That  Dild  fell  in  the  fire.' 

"  The  boy  was  frightened,  and  drove  so  fast  that  the  wind 
whistled  in  his  nostrils,  for  the  weather  was  cold,  and  the  roads 
were  in  a  splendid  condition.  He  heard  the  voice  calling  after  him 
several  times,  so  he  remembered  the  words  well.  He  came  safely 
home  with  his  load,  and  went  into  a  room,  where  the  servants  were 
helping  themselves  to  something  to  eat  at  the  end  of  a  big  table, 
as  they  found  time  to  get  a  few  mouthfuls. 

" '  Holloa,  lad !  has  Old  Nick  brought  you  here  already,  or 
haven't  you  gone  for  the  joints  yet  ? '  asked  one  of  the  people 
belonging  to  the  house. 

"  'Yes,  of  course  I  have,'  said  the  lad  ;  'there  you  see  the  joints 
coming  in  through  the  door.  But  I  drove  as  fast  as  the  horse 
could  gallop,  for  when  I  came  over  the  moor  I  heard  a  voice 
shouting  after  me  • 

"  '  "  If  you  are  going  to  Eldstad, 
Just  tell  our  Deld,  from  her  sire, 
That  Dild  fell  in  the  fire." ' 

"  '  Oh,  that's  my  child,'  shouted  a  voice  from  amongst  the  guests 
in  the  next  room,  and  in  an  instant  a  woman  rushed  out  as  if  she 
had  lost  her  senses.  She  ran  against  one  after  the  other,  and 
nearly  knocked  them  over,  but  suddenly  her  hat  fell  off,  and  it 
was  then  evident  that  it  was  a  huldre;  she  had  been  stealing 
both  meat  and  bacon,  butter  and  cake,  beer  and  brandy,  and 
all  that  was  good.  But  she  became  so  upset  on  hearing  about 
the  youngster,  that  she  left  behind  her  a  silver  cup  in  the  beer 
bowl,  and  didn't  notice  that  her  hat  had  fallen  off.  They  took  both 
the  cup  and  the  hat  and  kept  them  at  Eldstad  ;  and  the  hat  had 
this  property,  that  whoever  put  it  on  was  invisible  to  every  other 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  261 


mortal,  except  to  such  as  were  gifted  with  second  sight ;  but  whether 
the  hat  is  there  still,  I  cannot  say  for  certain,  for  1  have  not  seen 
it,  nor  have  I  had  it  on  either." 

"  Yes,  these  huldres  are  very  smart  at  thieving,  I  have  always 
heard  that,"  said  old  Bertha  Tuppenhaug,  "  but  particularly  in  the 
summer  time  when  the  cattle  are  up  in  the  mountains.  It's 
regular  holiday  time  for  both  huldres  and  other  fairies  then,  for 
while  the  dairymaids  go  about  thinking  of  their  sweethearts,  they 
forget  to  make  crosses  over  the  milk  and  cream  and  their  food, 
and  then  the  fairies  can  take  what  they  like.  It  isn't  often  they 
are  seen,  but  it  does  happen  now  and  then,  as  it  happened  once  at 
the  Neberg  dairy  up  here. 

"  There  were  some  wood-cutters  up  there  at  work,  and  as  they 
were  going  towards  the  dairy  for  supper,  they  heard  a  voice  over  in 
the  forest  shouting  to  them  : 

" '  Tell  Kilde,  both  her  sonnies  fell  in  the  soup-kettle  and  burnt 
themselves/ 

"  When  the  wood-cutters  came  to  the  dairy  they  told  the  girls  o 

this,  and  said  :  '  As  we  were  going  home  to  supper,  just  as  we  had 

shouldered  our  axes,  we  heard  some  one  shouting  over  in  the  forest  : 

" '  "  Tell  Kilde,  both  her  sonnies  fell  in  the  soup-kettle  and  burnt 

themselves." ' 

" '  Oh,  they're  my  children/  some  one  shouted  in  the  pantry,  and 
suddenly  a  huldre  rushed  out  with  a  milk-pail  in  her  hand,  which 
she  dropped  as  she  ran,  splashing  the  milk  all  about  the  room." 

"  Ah,  well !  you  hear  so  many  tales,"  said  the  smith  with  a 
sneer,  as  if  he  had  his  doubts  about  the  truth  of  this  story  ;  it  was, 
however,  perfectly  evident  that  the  remark  was  made  out  of  vexation 
at  being  interrupted,  when  he  had  once  fairly  started  with  his 
own  stories.  No  one  in  the  whole  parish  was  richer  than  he  in  a 
stock  of  the  most  wonderful  stories  and  tales  about  the  huldres  and 
fairies  ;  and  his  belief  in  these  supernatural  beings  was  on  a  par 
with  the  credulity  of  the  most  superstitious.  "  You  hear  so  many 
things,"  he  continued,  "  you  cannot  believe  them  all.  But  what  has 
happened  to  your  own  kith  and  kin  you  are  bound  to  believe  !  Now, 
I'll  tell  you  something  that  happened  to  my  father-in-law  ;  he  was  a 


262  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

most  serious  and  credible  man,  so  what  he  said  you  may  depend 
upon  was  true.  His  name  was  Joe,  and  he  lived  at  Skroperud  in 
Ullensaker.  He  built  himself  a  new  house  there,  and  he  had  two  or 
three  fat  cows  and  a  horse,  the  like  of  which  was  not  to  be  found  in 
the  whole  parish  ;  the  horse  was  often  used  as  post-horse  between  Mo 
and  Trogstad,  and  Joe  didn't  seem  to  care  much  how  the  beast  was 
used, — for  fat  he  was  and  fat  he  remained.  Joe  \vas  a  hunter,  and  a 
fiddler  as  well.  He  was  often  about  in  the  parish  playing,  but  at  home 
it  was  impossible  to  get  him  to  touch  the  fiddle ;  even  if  the  room  was 
full  of  lads  and  lasses  he  refused  to  play.  But  one  evening  some 
lads  from  the  neighbouring  farm  came  to  see  him,  and  they  brought 
some  brandy  with  them  in  their  pocket-flasks.  They  treated  Joe, 
and  when  they  had  made  him  tipsy,  more  lads  came  in,  and 
although  he  refused  to  play  at  first,  eventually  he  took  down  the 
fiddle.  But  after  he  had  played  for  some  time  he  put  it  away,  for 
he  knew  that  the  fairies  were  not  far  off,  and  that  they  didn't  like 
the  noise  and  disturbance.  But  the  lads  persuaded  him  to  play 
again  ;  and  thus  it  happened  two  or  three  times  that  he  put  the 
fiddle  away,  and  that  the  lads  coaxed  him  to  play  again.  At  last  he 
hung  his  fiddle  up  on  the  wall,  and  swore  he  wouldn't  play  another 
stroke  that  night,  and  with  that  he  turned  them  all  out,  lads  and 
lasses  I  He  was  just  going  to  bed,  and  was  standing  in  his  shirt- 
sleeves by  the  hearth  lighting  his  pipe  for  the  night  with  a  brand, 
when  a  large  party  of  old  and  young  people  came  in  and  filled  the 
whole  room. 

" '  Now,  are  you  there  again  ? '  said  Joe.  He  thought  at  first 
they  were  the  same  as  had  been  there  dancing,  but  when  he  saw 
they  were  strangers  he  felt  a  little  frightened,  took  his  daughters, 
who  were  already  in  bed,  and  threw  them  out  on  the  floor — he  was 
a  big  strong  man — and  asked  :  '  What  people  are  these  ?  Do  you 
know  them  ? ' 

"  The  lasses  were  sleepy,  and  didn't  know  what  to  answer.  So 
he  took  his  gun  down  from  the  wall  and  turned  round  towards  the 
people  who  had  come  in,  and  threatened  them  with  the  butt  end  of 
his  rifle.  '  If  you  don't  get  out  of  this  quickly,  I'll  turn  you  out  in 
such  a  way  that  you  won't  know  whether  you  are  standing  on  your 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  263 

heads  or  your  heels  ! '  Away  they  rushed,  yelling  out  of  the  door, 
the  one  on  top  of  the  other,  and  he  fancied  they  all  looked  like  a 
lot  of  grey  balls  of  worsted  rolling  out  through  the  door.  But 
when  Joe  had  put  his  gun  away  and  come  over  to  the  hearth  to 
light  his  pipe  again,  he  found  an  old  man  sitting  on  the  stool  by 
the  fire, — he  had  such  a  long  beard,  that  it  reached  down  to  his 
knees, — it  must  have  been  a  yard  long,  and  he  also  had  a  pipe, 
which  he  was  trying  to  light  with  a  fire-brand  like  Joe, — one 
moment  it  was  alight  and  the  next  it  went  out. 

"'And  you/  said  Joe,  'do  you  belong  to  the  same  gang  of 
tramps,  you  too  ?  Where  do  you  come  from  ? ' 

" '  Oh,  I  don't  live  far  away,  I  can  tell  you,'  said  the  man,  '  and  I 
would  advise  you  to  take  more  care  and  not  make  such  a  noise  and 
disturbance  after  this,  or  I'll  make  you  a  poor  man.' 

"  '  So,'  said  Joe,  '  where  do  you  live  then  ? ' 

" '  I  live  close  by,  under  the  corn-drying  room,'  said  the  man  ; 
'  and  if  we  hadn't  been  living  there,  it  would  have  been  gone  long 
ago,  for  you  have  been  firing  over  much  now  and  then,  and  it  has 
been  hot  enough  there  I  can  tell  you  ;  but  the  whole  building  is 
not  so  strong,  but  that  it'll  fall  in  a  heap  if  I  touch  it  with  my 
finger.  Now  you  know  it,  so  you  had  better  mind  after  this  ! ' 

"  There  was  no  more  dancing  and  playing  to  be  heard  at  Skroperud 
after  that  ;  Joe  parted  with  his  fiddle,  and  they  could  never  get  him 
to  touch  another  since." 

During  the  latter  part  of  this  story,  the  squire  had  been  making 
a  commotion  in  the  parlour ;  cupboard  doors  were  opened  and 
shut ;  we  heard  the  keys  rattle,  and  we  knew  he  was  busy  locking 
up  the  silver  plate  and  other  portable  property,  from  the  silver 
tankard  down  to  the  leaden  tobacco-box.  Just  as  the  smith  had 
finished  his  story,  the  squire  opened  the  door  and  popped  in  his 
head  with  his  cap  on  one  side. 

"  So  you  are  at  your  cock  and  bull  stories  and  lies  again  ? "  he 
asked. 

"  Lies  ? "  said  the  smith  very  much  offended,  "  I  have  never  told 
lies,  sir !     And  this  story  is  true  enough,  for  I  am  married  to  one  o 
the  daughters.     My  wife,  Dorthe,  she  was  lying  in  bed  and  saw  the 


264  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

old  man  with  the  beard.  These  girls  were  a  little  queer,  to  be  sure, 
almost  half-witted,  but  that  came  from  their  having  seen  fairies,"  he 
added,  with  an  indignant  look  at  the  squire. 

"  Half-witted  ? "  said  the  squire,  "  yes,  I  should  think  so ;  and 
that 's  what  you  are  too,  when  you  are  not  tipsy,  and  then  you  are 
raving  mad.  Come,  boys ! — Go  to  bed,  and  don't  sit  here  and  listen 
to  such  rubbish  and  nonsense." 

"  I  don't  think  that's  kindly  spoken  on  your  part,  sir,"  answerea 
the  smith,  with  an  air  of  superiority  ;  "  the  last  time  I  heard  rubbish 
and  nonsense  spoken,  was  when  you  made  the  speech  on  the  Neberg 
hill  the  last  Anniversary  of  our  Independence." 

"  Confounded  rubbish  !  "  muttered  the  squire,  as  he  came  trudging 
through  the  kitchen  with  the  candle  in  one  hand  and  a  bundle  of 
Acts  and  some  newspapers  under  his  arm. 

"  Oh,  wait  a  bit,  sir,"  said  the  smith,  evidently  with  the  intention 
of  teazing  the  squire,  "  and  let  the  boys  stay  a  little  longer  too. 
You  might  like  to  hear  a  trifle  also.  It  doesn't  do  you  good  to  be 
always  reading  in  the  law  books  either.  I  '11  tell  you  about  a  dra- 
goon who  was  married  to  a  huldre.  I  know  it's  true,  for  I've  heard  it 
of  old  Bertha,  and  she's  from  the  very  parish  where  it  happened. " 

The  squire  banged  the  door  after  him  angrily,  and  we  heard  him 
tramping  up  the  stairs. 

"  Well,  well,  since  the  squire  won't  listen,  I'll  tell  it  to  you,  my 
lads,"  said  the  smith,  addressing  the  boys,  on  whom  all  grandfatherly 
authority  was  lost  when  the  smith  promised  to  tell  tales. 

"  Many  years  ago,"  he  began,  "  there  lived  a  wealthy  old  couple 
on  a  farm  in  Halland.  They  had  a  son,  who  was  a  dragoon,  and  a 
fine  big  fellow  he  was.  They  had  a  dairy  up  in  the  mountains,  but 
it  wasn't  like  the  dairies  you  generally  see,  it  was  a  nice  and  well- 
built  dairy,  with  a  regular  chimney  and  roof  and  windows  too. 
They  stayed  there  all  the  summer,  but  when  they  left  in  the  autumn, 
some  woodcutters,  or  hunters,  or  fishermen,  or  such  people  who  knock 
about  in  the  mountains  at  that  time,  had  noticed  that  the  huldre 
people  moved  in  there  with  the  cattle.  And  amongst  them  was  a 
lass,  who  was  so  lovely  that  they  had  never  seen  her  like. 

"  The  son  had  often  heard  people  speak  of  this,  and  one  autumn 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN.  265 

when  they  had  left  the  dairy  he  dressed  himself  in  full  uniform,  put 
the  dragoon-saddle  on  his  horse,  and  the  pistols  in  the  holsters,  and 
off  he  started.  When  he  came  in  sight  of  the  dairy,  it  was  all 
ablaze  with  light,  and  he  guessed  then  that  the  huldre  people  had 
come  already.  So  he  tied  his  horse  to  the  stump  of  a  pine-tree, 
took  one  of  the  pistols  with  him,  and  stole  quietly  up  to  the  window 
and  looked  in.  In  the  room  sat  an  old  man  and  an  old  woman, 
who  were  so  crooked  and  so  wrinkled  with  age,  and  so  dreadfully 
ugly,  that  he  had  never  seen  anything  so  hideous  in  his  life  ;  but 
then  there  was  a  lass  who  was  so  lovely  that  he  thought  he  could 
not  live  if  he  did  not  make  her  his  own.  They  had  all  cow's  tails, 
the  lovely  lass  as  well.  He  could  see  that  they  had  only  lately 
arrived,  for  the  room  appeared  to  have  been  very  lately  put  in 
order.  The  lass  was  busy  washing  the  ugly  old  man,  while  the 
woman  was  lighting  a  fire  under  the  big  cheese-kettle  on  the 
hearth. 

"  All  of  a  sudden  the  dragoon  pushed  the  door  open,  and  fired 
his  pistol  right  over  the  head  of  the  lassie,  which  sent  her  rolling 
over  on  to  the  floor.  But  at  the  same  moment  she  turned  just  as 
ugly  as  she  had  been  beautiful  before,  and  her  nose  grew  as  long 
as  the  pistol. 

"  '  You  can  take  her  now  ;  she  is  yours  now  ! '  said  the  old  man. 
But  the  dragoon  was  almost  spell-bound  ;  he  remained  standing  on 
the  same  spot  and  could  not  move  a  step  either  forwards  or  back- 
wards. The  old  man  began  to  wash  the  lass,  and  she  looked  a  little 
better  after  that,  the  nose  decreased  to  about  half  the  size,  and  the 
ugly  cow's  tail  was  tied  up,  but  it  would  be  a  sin  to  say  she  was 
anything  like  pretty. 

"  '  She  is  yours  now,  my  brave  dragoon  !  Put  her  in  front  of  you 
on  the  pommel  of  the  saddle,  and  ride  through  the  parish  with  her 
and  celebrate  your  wedding.  For  us  two,  you  can  prepare  some- 
thing in  the  small  chamber  in  the  wash-house,  for  we  don't  care  to 
mix  with  the  other  wedding-guests,'  said  the  old  ugly  one,  who 
was  the  father  of  the  lass ;  '  but  when  the  loving  cup  is  passing 
round  you  may  as  well  look  in  on  us.' 

"  He  dared  not  do  otherwise ;  he  took  the  lassie  with  him  on  the 


266  Ax  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

pommel  of  the  saddle  and  made  preparations  lor  the  wedding. 
But  before  they  went  to  church,  the  bride  asked  one  of  the  brides- 
maids to  stand  close  behind,  that  no  one  should  see  the  cow's  tail 
fall  off  when  the  parson  put  his  hand  on  her  head. 

"  So  the  wedding  was  celebrated,  and  when  the  loving  cup  was 
passing  round,  the  bridegroom  went  across  to  the  chamber,  where 
a  table  had  been  laid  for  the  old  huldrefolks.  He  did  not  notice 
anything  there  that  time,  but  when  the  guests  had  departed  and  he 
went  in  to  see  to  the  old  folks  again  they  were  gone,  but  he  found 
such  a  lot  of  gold  and  silver  which  they  must  have  left  behind,  that 
he  had  never  seen  so  much  treasure  before. 

"  So  everything  went  comfortably  for  a  long  time  ;  and  whenever 
they  had  any  friends  with  them,  the  wife  got  something  ready  for 
the  old  couple  in  the  little  chamber,  who  always  left  so  much 
money  behind  them  that  the  young  people  did  not  know  what  to 
do  with  it.  But  the  huldre  wife  was  ugly  and  remained  ugly,  and 
the  young  husband  began  to  get  tired  of  her,  and  I  believe  he  was 
unkind  to  her  now  and  then,  and  even  attempted  to  strike  her. 

"  One  day  late  in  the  autumn  he  was  going  to  town,  but  the  early 
frost  had  set  in  and  the  roads  were  slippery,  so  he  had  to  get  his 
horse  shod  first.  He  went  to  the  smithy, — for  he  was  a  clever 
smith  himself, — but  whichever  way  he  twisted  and  turned  the  iron, 
the  shoes  were  either  too  large  or  too  small,  and  he  could  not  get 
them  to  fit.  He  had  only  that  horse  at  home  on  the  farm,  so  he 
had  no  choice  but  to  work  away  at  the  shoeing.  But  dinner 
time  came,  and  the  afternoon  wore  on,  and  still  the  horse  was 
unshod. 

"  '  Will  you  never  get  those  shoes  ready  ? '  asked  his  wife.  '  You 
are  not  much  of  a  husband  of  late,  and  I  think  you  are  still  less  a 
smith.  I  see  no  help  for  it  but  to  go  myself  to  the  smithy  and  shoe 
your  horse.  If  I  make  the  shoe  too  big  you  can  make  it  smaller, 
and  if  I  make  it  too  small  you  can  make  it  bigger.'  She  went  into 
the  smithy,  and  the  first  thing  she  did  was  to  take  the  shoe  in  her 
hands  and  pull  the  iron  out  straight. 

"'  Look  here,'  she  said,  'this  is  the  way  you  are  to  do  it !'  So 
she  bent  the  shoe  together  as  if  it  were  of  lead.  '  Now  hold  his 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 


267 


foot  up/  she  said,  and  the  shoe  fitted  exactly ;    the   best   smith 
could  not  have  done  it  better. 

"  '  You  seem  to  be  very  strong  in  your  fingers/  said  her  husband, 
as  he  looked  at  her. 


" '  Do  you  think  so  ? '  she  said.     '  How  do  you  think  it  would 
have  fared  with  me,  if  you  had  been  as  strong  in  your  fingers  ? 
But  I  care  for  you  too  much  to  use  my  strength  against  yours.' 
J<  From  that  day  he  was  most  kind  and  good  to  her." 
"Well,    I   think  we   have   had   enough  for  to-night,"  said  the 


268  AN  EVENING  IN  THE  SQUIRE'S  KITCHEN. 

squire's  wife,  when  the  smith  had  finished  this  story,  and  got  up 
from  her  comfortable  seat. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  we  must  be  going,  since  the  old  man  has  gone 
to  roost,"  said  the  smith,  and  bade  the  children  "  Good  night ;  " 
but  he  had  to  promise  them  to  tell  more  the  next  evening,  having 
made  the  condition  that  he  was  to  have  a  "  quarter  of  tobacco." 

Next  afternoon,  when  I  went  into  the  smithy,  I  found  the  smith 
chewing  very  hard,  which  was  always  the  case  when  he  had  been 
drinking. 

In  the  evening  he  went  to  some  of  the  neighbouring  farms  to 
get  more  drink.  When  I  saw  him  again  some  days  afterwards,  he 
was  gloomy  and  chary  of  words.  He  would  not  tell  any  stories, 
although  the  boys  promised  him  both  tobacco  and  brandy.  The 
girls  whispered,  that  the  fairies  had  got  hold  of  him  and  knocked 
him  over  in  the  Asmyr  hill.  A  carter  had  found  him  lying  there 
early  in  the  morning,  and  then  he  spoke  incoherenly. 


HANS,  WHO  MADE   THE   PRINCESS    LAUGH. 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  king,  who  had  a  daughter,  and  she 
was  so  lovely  that  the  reports  of  her  beauty  went  far  and  wide  ;  but 
she  was  so  melancholy,  that  she  never  laughed,  and  besides  she  was 
so  grand  and  proud  that  she  said  "  No  "  to  all  who  came  to  woo 
her — she  would  not  have  any  of  them,  were  they  ever  so  fine,  whether 
they  were  princes  or  noblemen. 

The  king  was  tired  of  this  whim  of  hers  long  ago,  and  thought 
she  ought  to  get  married  like  other  people  ;  there  was  nothing  she 
need  wait  for, — she  was  old  enough  and  she  would  not  be  any  richer 
either,  for  she  was  to  have  half  the  kingdom,  which  she  inherited 
after  her  mother. 

So  he  made  known  every  Sunday  after  the  service,  from  the  steps 
outside  the  church,  that  he  that  could  make  his  daughter  laugh 
should  have  both  her  and  half  the  kingdom.  But  if  there  were  any 
one  who  tried  and  could  not  make  her  laugh,  he  would  have  three 
red  stripes  cut  out  of  his  back  and  salt  rubbed  into  them — and,  sad 
to  relate,  there  were  many  sore  backs  in  that  kingdom.  Lovers 
from  south  and  from  north,  from  east  and  from  west  came  to  try 
their  luck — they  thought  it  was  an  easy  thing  to  make  a  princess 
laugh.  They  were  a  queer  lot  altogether,  but  for  all  their  cleverness 
and  for  all  the  tricks  and  pranks  they  played,  the  princess  was  just 
as  serious  and  immovable  as  ever. 

But  close  to  the  palace  lived  a  man  who  had  three  sons,  and  they 
had  also  heard  that  the  king  had  made  known  that  he  who  could 
make  the  princess  laugh  should  have  her  and  half  the  kingdom. 

The  eldest  of  the  brothers  wanted  to  try  first,  and  away  he  went  : 


270  HANS,   WHO   MADE   THE   PRINCESS   LAUGH. 

and  when  he  came  to  the  palace,  he  told  the  king  he  wouldn't  mind 
trying  to  make  the  princess  laugh. 

"  Yes,  yes  !  that's  all  very  well,"  said  the  king  ;  "  but  I  am  afraid 
it's  of  very  little  use,  my  man.  There  have  been  many  here  to  try 
their  luck,  but  my  daughter  is  just  as  sad,  and  I  am  afraid  it  is 
no  good  trying.  I  do  not  like  to  see  any  more  suffer  on  that 
account." 

But  the  lad  thought  he  would  try  anyhow.  It  couldn't  be  such 
a  difficult  thing  to  make  a  princess  laugh  at  him,  for  had  not  every- 
body, both  grand  and  simple,  laughed  so  many  a  time  at  him 
when  he  served  as  soldier  and  went  through  his  drill  under 
Sergeant  Nils. 

So  he  went  out  on  the  terrace  outside  the  princess's  windows  and 
began  drilling  just  as  if  Sergeant  Nils  himself  were  there.  But  all 
in  vain  !  The  princess  sat  just  as  serious  and  immovable  as  before, 
and  so  they  took  him  and  cut  three  broad,  red  stripes  out  of  his 
back  and  sent  him  home. 

He  had  no  sooner  arrived  home,  than  his  second  brother  wanted 
to  set  out  and  try  his  luck.  He  was  a  schoolmaster,  and  a  funny 
figure  he  was  altogether.  He  had  one  leg  shorter  than  the  other, 
and  limped  terribly  when  he  walked.  One  moment  he  was  no 
bigger  than  a  boy,  but  the  next  moment  when  he  raised  himself  up 
on  his  long  leg  he  was  as  big  and  tall  as  a  giant — and  besides  he 
was  great  at  preaching. 

When  he  came  to  the  palace,  and  said  that  he  wanted  to  make 
the  princess  laugh,  the  king  thought  that  it  was  not  so  unlikely  that 
he  might ;  "  but  I  pity  you,  if  you  don't  succeed,"  said  the  king, 
"  for  we  cut  the  stripes  broader  and  broader  for  every  one  that 
tries." 

So  the  schoolmaster  went  out  on  the  terrace,  and  took  his  place 
outside  the  princess's  window,  where  he  began  preaching  and 
chanting,  imitating  seven  of  the  parsons,  and  reading  and  singing 
just  like  seven  of  the  clerks  whom  they  had  had  in  the  parish. 

The  king  laughed  at  the  schoolmaster  till  he  was  obliged  to  hold 
on  to  the  door-post,  and  the  princess  was  just  on  the  point  of 
smiling,  but  suddenly  she  was  as  sad  and  immovable  as  ever,  and 


HANS,   WHO   MADE   THE   PRINCESS   LAUGH.  271 

so  it  fared  no  better  with  Paul  the  schoolmaster  than  with  Peter 
the  soldier — for  Peter  and  Paul  were  their  names,  you  must  know  t 

So  they  took  Paul  and  cut  three  red  stripes  out  of  his  back,  put 
salt  into  them,  and  sent  him  home  again. 

Well,  the  youngest  brother  thought  he  would  have  a  try  next. 
His  name  was  Hans.  But  the  brothers  laughed  and  made  fun  of 
him,  and  showed  him  their  sore  backs.  Besides,  the  father  would 
not  give  him  leave  to  go,  for  he  said  it  was  no  use  his  trying,  who 
had  so  little  sense  ;  all  he  could  do  was  to  sit  in  a  corner  on  the 
hearth,  like  a  cat,  rooting  about  in  the  ashes  and  cutting  chips. 
But  Hans  would  not  give  in — he  begged  and  prayed  so  long,  till 
they  got  tired  of  his  whimpering,  and  so  he  got  leave  to  go  to  the 
king's  palace  and  try  his  luck. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  palace,  he  did  not  say  he  had  come  to 
try  to  make  the  princess  laugh,  but  asked  if  he  could  get  a  situa- 
tion there.  No,  they  had  no  situation  for  him  ;  but  Hans  was  not 
so  easily  put  off ;  they  might  want  one  to  carry  wood  and  water 
for  the  kitchen  maid  in  such  a  big  place  as  that,  he  said.  Yes,  the 
king  thought  so  too,  and  to  get  rid  of  the  lad  he  gave  him  leave  to 
remain  there  and  carry  wood  and  water  for  the  kitchenmaid. 

One  day,  when  he  was  going  to  fetch  water  from  the  brook,  he 
saw  a  big  fish  in  the  water  just  under  an  old  root  of  a  fir-tree, 
which  the  current  had  carried  all  the  soil  away  from.  He  put  his 
bucket  quietly  under  the  fish  and  caught  it.  As  he  was  going 
home  to  the  palace,  he  met  an  old  woman  leading  a  golden  goose. 

"  Good  day,  grandmother  !  "  said  Hans.  "  That's  a  fine  bird  you 
have  got  there  ;  and  such  splendid  feathers  too !  he  shines  .a  long 
way  off.  If  one  had  such  feathers,  one  needn't  be  chopping 
firewood." 

The  woman  thought  just  as  much  of  the  fish  which  Hans  had  in 
the  bucket,  and  said  if  Hans  would  give  her  the  fish  he  should 
have  the  golden  goose  ;  and  this  goose  was  such,  that  if  any  one 
touched  it  he  would  be  sticking  fast  to  it  if  he  only  said  :  "  If 
you'll  come  along,  then  hang  on." 

Yes,  Hans  would  willingly  exchange  on  those  terms.  "  A  bird 
is  as  good  as  a  fish  any  day,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  If  it  is  as  you 


2/2  HANS,   WHO   MADE   THE   PRINCESS   LAUGH. 

say,  I  might  use  it  instead  of  a  fish-hook,"  he  said  to  the  woman, 
and  felt  greatly  pleased  with  the  possession  of  the  goose. 

He  had  not  gone  far  before  he  met  another  old  woman.  When 
she  saw  the  splendid  golden  goose,  she  must  go  and  stroke  it.  She 
made  herself  so  friendly  and  spoke  so  nicely  to  Hans,  and  asked 
him  to  let  her  stroke  that  lovely  golden  goose  of  his. 

"  Oh,  yes  ! "  said  Hans,  "  but  you  mus'n't  pluck  off  any  of  its 
feathers ! " 

Just  as  she  stroked  the  bird,  Hans  said  :  "  If  you'll  come  along, 
then  hang  on  ! " 

The  woman  pulled  and  tore,  but  she  had  to  hang  on,  whether 
she  would  or  no,  and  Hans  walked  on,  as  if  he  only  had  the  goose 
with  him. 

When  he  had  gone  some  distance,  he  met  a  man  who  had  a 
spite  against  the  woman  for  a  trick  she  had  played  upon  him. 
When  he  saw  that  she  fought  so  hard  to  get  free  and  seemed  to 
hang  on  so  fast,  he  thought  he  might  safely  venture  to  pay  her  off 
for  the  grudge  he  owed  her,  and  so  he  gave  her  a  kick. 

"  If  you'll  come  along,  then  hang  on  !  "  said  Hans,  and  the  man 
had  to  hang  on  and  limp  along  on  one  leg,  whether  he  would  or 
no  ;  and  when  he  tried  to  tear  himself  loose,  he  made  it  still  worse 
for  himself,  for  he  was  very  nearly  falling  on  his  back  whenever  he 
struggled  to  get  free. 

So  on  they  went  till  they  came  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
palace.  There  they  met  the  king's  smith  ;  he  was  on  his  way  to 
the  smithy,  and  had  a  large  pair  of  tongs  in  his  hand.  This  smith 
was  a  merry  fellow,  and  was  always  full  of  mad  pranks  and  tricks, 
and  when  he  saw  this  procession  coming  jumping  and  limping 
along,  he  began  laughing  till  he  was  bent  in  two,  but  suddenly 
he  said : 

"  This  must  be  a  new  flock  of  geese  for  the  princess  ;  but 
who  can  tell  which  is  goose  and  which  is  gander  ?  I  suppose 
it  must  be  the  gander  toddling  on  in  front.  Goosey,  goosey ! " 
he  called,  and  pretended  to  be  strewing  corn  out  of  his  hands  as 
when  feeding  geese. 

But    they    did    not    stop.      The    woman    and   the    man    only 


HANS,  WHO  MADE   THE   PRINCESS   LAUGH.  275 

looked  in  great  rage  at  the  smith  for  making  game  of  them. 
So  said  the  smith  :  "  It  would  be  great  fun  to  see  if  I  could 
stop  the  whole  flock,  many  as  they  are!" — He  was  a  strong 
man,  and  seized  the  old  man  with  his  tongs  from  behind  in 
his  trousers,  and  the  man  shouted  and  struggled  hard,  but 
Hans  said  : 

"  If  you'll  come  along,  then  hang  on  ! " 

And  so  the  smith  had  to  hang  on  too.  He  bent  his  back 
and  stuck  his  heels  in  the  ground  when  they  went  up  a  hill  and 
tried  to  get  away,  but  it  was  of  no  use ;  he  stuck  on  to  the 
other  as  if  he  had  been  screwed  fast  in  the  great  vice  in  the 
smithy,  and  whether  he  liked  it  or  not,  he  had  to  dance  along 
with  the  others. 

When  they  came  near  the  palace,  the  farm-dog  ran  against  them 
and  barked  at  them,  as  if  they  were  a  gang  of  tramps,  and  when 
the  princess  came  to  look  out  of  her  window  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  and  saw  this  procession,  she  burst  out  laughing.  But 
Hans  was  not  satisfied  with  that.  "  Just  wait  a  bit,  and  she  will 
laugh  still  louder  very  soon,"  he  said,  and  made  a  tour  round  the 
palace  with  his  followers. 

When  they  came  past  the  kitchen,  the  door  was  open  and  the 
cook  was  just  boiling  porridge,  but  when  she  saw  Hans  and  his 
train  after  him,  she  rushed  out  of  the  door  with  the  porridge- 
stick  in  one  hand  and  a  big  ladle  full  of  boiling  porridge  in  the 
other,  and  she  laughed  till  her  sides  shook  ;  but  when  she  saw 
the  smith  there  as  well  she  thought  she  would  have  burst  with 
laughter.  When  she  had  had  a  regular  good  laugh,  she  looked 
at  the  golden  goose  again  and  thought  it  was  so  lovely  that  she 
must  stroke  it. 

"  Hans,  Hans  !  "  she  cried,  and  ran  after  him  with  the  ladle  in  her 
hand  ;  "just  let  me  stroke  that  lovely  bird  of  yours." 

"  Rather  let  her  stroke  me  !  "  said  the  smith. 

11  Very  well,"  said  Hans. 

But  when  the  cock  heard  this,  she  got  very  angry.  "What 
is  it  you  say ! "  she  cried,  and  gave  the  smith  a  smack  with 
the  ladle. 

T  2 


2/6  HANS,  WHO  MADE  THE   PRINCESS   LAUGH. 

"If  you'll  come  along,  then  hang  on!"  said  Hans,  and  so  she 
stuck  fast  to  the  others  too,  and  for  all  her  scolding  and  all  her 
tearing  and  pulling,  she  had  to  limp  along  with  them. 

And  when  they  came  past  the  princess's  window  again,  she  was 
still  there  waiting  for  them,  but  when  she  saw  that  they  had  got 
hold  of  the  cook  too,  with  the  ladle  and  porridge-stick,  she  laughed 
till  the  king  had  to  hold  her  up.  So  Hans  got  the  princess  and 
half  the  kingdom,  and  they  had  a  wedding  which  was  heard  of  far 
and  wide. 


A    SUMMER 


NIGHT    IN    A 
FOREST. 


NORWEGIAN 


The  evening  shadows  now  unfold 

Their  curtain  o'er  the  lonely  wold  ; 

The  night  wind  sighs  with  dreary  moan, 

And  whispers  over  stock  and  stone. 

Tramp,  Tramp  !  the  trolls  come  trooping,  hark  ! 

Across  the  moor  to  the  deep  woods  dark. 

GEIJER. 

WHEN  I  was  a  boy  about  fourteen  years  old  I  came  one  Satur- 
day afternoon  in  the  middle  of  the  summer  to  Upper  Lyse,  the 
last  farm  in  Sorkedale.  I  had  frequently  walked  or  driven  over 
the  main  road  between  Christiania  and  Ringerike,  and  I  had  now, 
after  having  been  at  home  on  a  short  visit,  taken  the  road  past 
Bokstad  to  Lyse  for  a  change,  with  the  intention  of  making  a  short 
cut  through  the  north  part  of  the  Krog-wood. 

I  found  all  the  doors  of  the  farmhouse  wide  open,  but  I  looked 
in  vain  in  the  parlour,  in  the  kitchen,  and  in  the  barn,  for  a  human 
being  whom  I  could  ask  for  a  drink  and  who  could  give  me  some 
direction  about  the  road. 


278         A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 

There  was  no  one  at  home  but  a  black  cat,  who  was  sitting  quite 
content  and  purring  on  the  hearth,  and  a  dazzling  white  cock,  who 
was  walking  up  and  down  the  passage  breasting  himself  and  crowing 
incessantly,  as  much  as  to  say  :  "  Now  I  am  the  cock  of  the  walk  !  " 
The  swallows,  which  had  been  tempted  here  in  great  numbers  on 
account  of  the  quantity  of  insects  to  be  found  in  proximity  to  the 
wood,  and  had  established  themselves  in  the  barn  and  under  the 
eaves,  were  gambolling,  circling,  and  twittering  fearlessly  about  in 
the  sunshine. 

Tired  with  the  heat  and  my  walk,  I  threw  myself  down  on  the 
grass  in  the  shadow  of  the  house,  where  I  lay  half-asleep  enjoying 
a  quiet  rest,  when  I  was  startled  by  an  unpleasant  clamour, — the 
jarring  voice  of  a  woman,  who  was  trying  by  alternately  scolding 
and  using  pet  names  to  pacify  a  litter  of  grunting  pigs  on  the  farm. 
By  following  the  sound  I  came  upon  a  bare-footed  old  woman  with 
a  yellow  dried-up  countenance,  who  was  bending  down  over  the 
pigs'  trough,  busy  filling  it  with  food,  for  which  the  noisy  little 
creatures  were  fighting,  tearing,  pushing,  and  yelling,  with  expec- 
tation and  delight. 

On  my  questioning  her  about  the  road,  she  answered  me  by 
asking  me  another  question,  while  she,  without  raising  herself  up, 
turned  her  head  half  away  from  her  pets  to  stare  at  me. 

"  Where  might  you  come  from  ? " 

When  she  had  got  a  satisfactory  answer  to  this,  she  continued, 
while  she  repeatedly  addressed  herself  to  the  young  pigs  : 

"  Ah,  so  ! — you  are  at  school  at  the  parson's,  eh  ! — hush,  hush  ! 

little  piggies  then  ! The  road  to  Stubdale,  do  you  say  ? 

Just  look  at  that  one  now  !  Will  you  let  the  others  get  something 
as  well,  you  rascal !  Hush,  hush  !  Be  quiet,  will  you  !  Oh,  poor 

fellow,  did  I  kick  you  then  ? Yes,  yes,  I'll  tell  you  the  road 

directly, — it's — it's  straight  on  through  the  wood  till  you  come  to 
the  b'g  water-wheel !  " 

As  this  direction  seemed  to  me  to  be  rather  vague  for  a  road  of 
about  fourteen  miles  length  through  a  forest,  I  asked  her  if  I  could 
not  hire  a  lad  who  knew  the  road,  to  go  with  me. 

"  No,  bless    you !     Is   it    likely  ? "   she    said,    as    she    left    the 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST.        279 

piggery  and  came  out  on  the  slope  before  the  farm.  "  They  are 
so  busy  now  with  the  haymaking,  that  they've  scarcely  time  to  eat. 
But  it's  straight  through  the  wood,  and  I'll  explain  it  to  you  right 
enough,  as  if  you  saw  the  road  before  you.  First  you  go  up  the 
crag  and  all  the  hills  over  yonder,  and  when  you  have  got  up  on  the 
heights,  you  have  the  straight  road  right  before  you  to  Heggelie 
You  have  the  river  on  your  left  hand  all  the  way,  and  if  you  don't 
see  it,  you'll  hear  it.  But  just  about  Heggelie  there  is  a  lot  of 
twistings  and  turnings,  and  now  and  then  the  road  is  lost  altogether 
for  some  distance — if  one  is  a  stranger  there,  it's  not  an  easy  thing 
to  find  one's  way,  but  you  are  sure  to  find  it  as  far  as  Heggelie,  for 
that's  close  to  the  lake.  Afterwards  you  go  along  the  lake,  till  you 
come  to  the  dam  across  a  small  tarn,  just  like  a  bridge,  as  they  call 
it ;  bear  away  to  the  left  there,  and  then  turn  off  to  the  right,  and 
you  have  the  road  straight  before  you  to  Stubdale  in  Aasa." 

Although  this  direction  was  not  quite  satisfactory,  particularly  as 
it  was  the  first  time  I  had  started  on  an  excursion  off  the  mainroad, 
I  set  out  confidently  and  soon  all  hesitation  vanished.  From  the 
heights  a  view  was  now  and  then  obtained  between  the  lofty  pine 
and  fir-trees  of  the  valley  below  with  its  smiling  fields  and  varie- 
gated woods  of  birch  and  alder  trees,  between  which  the  river 
wound  like  a  narrow  silvery  streak.  The  red-painted  farm-houses, 
peculiar  to  Norway,  lay  picturesquely  scattered  on  the  higher  points 
of  the  undulating  valley,  where  men  and  women  were  busy  hay- 
making. From  some  chimneys  rose  columns  of  blue  smoke,  which 
appeared  quite  light  against  the  dark  background  of  thickly  studded 
pine  forests  on  the  mountain  slopes. 

Over  the  whole  landscape  lay  a  repose  and  a  peace  so  perfect 
that  no  one  could  have  suspected  the  close  proximity  of  the  capital. 
When  I  had  advanced  some  distance  into  the  forest,  I  heard  the 
notes  of  the  bugle  and  the  distant  baying  of  hounds  in  full  cry, 
which  gradually  ceased,  till  nothing  but  a  faint  echo  of  the  bugle 
reached  my  ear.  I  now  heard  the  roar  of  the  river,  which  rushed 
wildly  past  at  some  distance  on  my  left,  but  as  I  advanced  the 
road  seemed  gradually  to  approach  it,  and  soon  the  valley  in  some 
parts  grew  narrower  and  narrower,  till  I  at  last  found  myself  at  the 


23o         A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 

bottom  of  a  deep,  gloomy  gorge,  the  greatest  part  of  which  was 
taken  up  by  the  river.  But  the  road  left  the  river  again  ;  there 
were  certainly  twistings  and  turnings,  as  the  old  woman  had  said, 
for  at  one  moment  it  wound  hither  and  the  next  thither,  and  at 
some  places  it  was  almost  imperceptible.  Now  it  went  up  a  steep 
incline,  and  when  I  had  passed  the  brow  of  the  hill,  I  saw  between 
the  fir-trees  a  couple  of  twinkling  tarns  before  me,  and  on  the  margin 
of  one  of  these  a  dairy  on  a  verdant  slope,  bathed  in  the  golden 
light  of  the  evening  sun.  In  the  shady  retreat  under  the  hill  grew 
clusters  of  luxuriant  ferns  ;  the  wild  French  willow  stood  proudly  with 
its  lofty  crest  of  red  and  gorgeous  flowers  between  the  pebbles,  but 
the  sedate  monk's  hood  lifted  its  head  still  higher  and  looked 
gloomily  and  wickedly  down  on  it,  while  it  nodded  and  kept  time 
to  the  cuckoo's  song,  as  if  it  were  counting  how  many  days  it  had 
to  live.  On  the  verdant  slope  and  down  by  the  edge  of  the  water, 
the  bird-cherry  and  the  mountain  ash  displayed  their  flowery  garb 
of  summer.  They  sent  a  pleasant  and  refreshing  fragrance  far 
around,  and  shook  sorrowfully  the  leaves  of  their  white  flowers  over 
the  reflected  picture  of  the  landscape  in  the  mirror  of  the  lake, 
which  on  all  sides  was  surrounded  by  pine  trees  and  mossy  cliffs. 

There  was  no  one  at  home  in  the  dairy.  All  doors  were  locked, 
— I  knocked  everywhere,  but  no  answer, — no  information  as  to 
the  road.  I  sat  down  on  a  rock  and  waited  a  while,  but  no  one 
appeared.  The  evening  was  setting  in;  I  thought  I  could  not  stay 
there  any  longer,  and  started  again.  It  was  still  darker  in  the 
forest,  but  shortly  I  came  to  a  timber-dam  across  a  bit  of  river 
between  two  tarns.  I  supposed  this  was  the  place  where  I  "should 
bear  off  first  to  the  left,  and  then  to  the  right."  I  went  across,  but 
on  the  other  side  of  the  dam  there  were  only — as  it  appeared  to  me 
— flat,  smooth,  damp  rocks  and  no  trace  of  a  road  ;  on  the  opposite 
side,  the  right  side  of  the  dam,  there  was  a  well-trodden  path.  I 
examined  both  sides  several  times,  and  although  it  appeared  to  be 
contrary  to  the  direction  I  had  received,  I  decided  on  choosing  the 
broader  road  or  path,  which  was  continued  on  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  water.  As  long  as  it  followed  the  course  of  the  dark  tarn, 
the  road  was  good  and  passable,  but  suddenly  it  turned  off  in  a 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST.        281 

direction  which,  according  to  my  ideas,  was  the  very  opposite  of  the 
one  I  should  take,  and  lost  itself  in  a  confused  net  of  paths  and 
cattle-tracks  amid  the  darkness  of  the  forest.  Inexpressibly  tired 
of  this  anxious  intricate  search  I  threw  myself  down  on  the  soft 
moss  to  rest  for  a  while,  but  the  fatigue  conquered  the  fears  of  the 
lonely  forest,  and  I  cannot  now  tell  how  long  I  dozed.  On  hearing 
a  wild  cry,  the  echo  of  which  still  resounded  in  my  ears  when  I 
awoke,  I  jumped  to  my  feet.  I  felt  comforted  by  the  song  of  the 
redbreast,  and  I  thought  I  felt  less  lonely  and  deserted  as  long  as 
I  heard  the  merry  notes  of  the  thrush. 

The  sky  was  overcast  and  the  darkness  of  the  forest  had  in- 
creased considerably.  A  fine  rain  was  falling,  which  imparted 
renewed  life  to  the  plants  and  trees  and  filled  the  air  with  a  fresh, 
aromatic  fragrance  ;  it  also  seemed  to  call  to  life  all  the  nocturnal 
sounds  and  notes  of  the  forest  Among  the  tops  of  the  fir-trees 
above  me,  I  heard  a  hollow,  metallic  sound,  like  the  croaking 
of  the  frog  and  a  penetrating  whistling  and  piping.  Round 
about  me  was  a  buzzing  sound,  as  if  from  a  hundred  spinning- 
wheels,  but  the  most  terrible  of  all  these  sounds  was,  that 
they  at  one  time  seemed  close  to  your  ear,  and  in  another 
moment  far  away ;  now  they  were  interrupted  by  frolicsome,  wild 
cries  and  a  flapping  of  wings, — now  by  distant  cries  of  distress, 
on  which  a  sudden  silence  followed  again.  I  was  seized  by  an 
indescribable  fear  ;  these  sounds  sent  a  chill  through  me,  and  my 
terror  was  increased  by  the  darkness  between  the  trees,  where  all 
objects  appeared  distorted,  moving  and  alive,  stretching  forth 
thousands  of  hands  and  arms  after  the  stray  wanderer.  All  the 
fairy  tales  of  my  childhood  were  conjured  up  before  my  startled 
imagination,  and  appeared  to  be  realised  in  the  forms  which  sur- 
rounded me ;  I  saw  the  whole  forest  filled  with  trolls,  elves,  and 
sporting  dwarfs.  In  thoughtless  and  breathless  fear  I  rushed 
forward  to  avoid  this  host  of  demons,  but  while  flying  thus  still 
more  frightful  and  distorted  shapes  appeared, — and  I  fancied  I  felt 
their  hands  clutching  me.  Suddenly  I  heard  the  heavy  tread  of 
some  one,  who  moved  over  the  crackling  branches  of  the  underwood. 
I  saw,  or  fancied  I  saw,  a  dark  shape,  which  approached  me  with 


282        A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 

a  pair  of  eyes  shining  like  glowing  stars.  My  hair  stood  on  an 
end  ;  I  believed  my  fate  was  inevitably  sealed,  and  shouted  almost 
unconsciously  as  if  to  give  myself  new  courage  : 

"  If  there's  anybody  there,  tell  me  the  way  to  Stubdale ! " 
A  deep  growl  was  the  answer  I  received,  and  the  bear,  for  such  it 
was,  walked  quickly  away  in  the  same  direction  whence  he  had 
come.  I  stood  for  some  time  and  listened  to  his  heavy  steps  and 
the  crackling  of  the  branches  under  his  feet.  I  mumbled  to 
myself:  "  I  wish  it  was  daylight  and  that  I  had  a  gun  with  me, 
and  you  should  have  had  a  bullet,  Master  Bruin,  for  frighten' 
me  thus  ! " 

With  this  wish  and  childish  threat  all  fear  and  thoughts  of 
danger  vanished,  and  I  walked  on  again  quite  composed,  on  the 
soft  mossy  ground.  There  was  now  no  sign  of  either  road  or  path ; 
but  it  grew  lighter  between  the  trees  in  front  of  me,  the  forest 
became  more  open,  and  I  found  myself  on  the  slope  leading  down 
to  the  shores  of  a  large  lake,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  pine 
forests,  which  on  the  distant  shores  vanished  under  the  misty  veil 
of  the  night. 

By  the  red  glimmering  of  the  northern  sky,  which  was  reflected 
in  the  dark  surface  of  the  lake,  over  which  the  bats  fluttered  and 
circled,  while  large  birds  higher  up  in  the  air  shot  swiftly  across 
with  that  croaking  and  penetrating  whistle  which  not  long  ago  had 
appeared  so  terrible  to  me,  I  found  I  had  gone  in  a  north-easterly 
direction  instead  of  to  the  west. 

While  I  was  meditating  whether  I  should  remain  here  till  the 
sun  rose,  or  try  to  find  my  way  "back  to  the  dam,  I  discovered  to 
my  inexpressible  joy  on  this  side  of  the  lake  a  glimpse  of  a  fire 
between  the  trees.  I  ran  towards  it,  but  I  soon  discovered  that  it 
was  farther  off  than  it  at  first  appeared  to  be,  because,  after  having 
walked  about  a  mile,  I  found  myself  still  separated  from  it  by  a 
deep  valley. 

When  after  considerable  trouble  I  had  forced  my  way  through 
the  chaos  of  fallen  trees,  which  the  wind  had  torn  up  in  this 
exposed  wild  region,  and  had  ascended  the  other  steep  hill-side,  I 
had  still  a  good  distance  to  walk  across  an  open  wooded  heath, 


. 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST.        285 

where  the  firs  stood  in  rows  like  lofty  pillars  and  where  the  ground 
resounded  under  my  steps. 

On  the  outskirt  of  this  wood  trickled  a  small  brook,  where  the 
alder  and  the  pine  trees  again  sought  to  maintain  their  place,  and 
on  a  small  plot  on  the  slope  on  the  other  side  of  a  brook  burned  a 
great  log-fire,  which  threw  its  red  light  far  in  between  the  trees. 
In  front  of  the  fire  sat  a  dark  figure,  which,  on  account  of  its  position 
between  me  and  the  blazing  fire,  appeared  to  me  to  be  of  super- 
natural proportions.  The  old  stories  about  robbers  and  thieves  in 
this  forest  came  suddenly  back  to  me,  and  I  was  on  the  point  of 
running  away  when  my  eyes  caught  sight  of  a  hut,  made  out  of 
fir-branches,  close  to  the  fire,  and  two  other  men.  who  sat  outside 
it,  and  the  many  axes,  which  were  fixed  into  the  stump  of  a 
felled  tree,  and  it  became  evident  to  me  that  they  were  wood- 
cutters. 

The  dark  figure,  an  old  man,  was  speaking, — I  saw  him  move 
his  lips  ;  he  held  a  short  pipe  in  his  hand,  which  he  only  put  to  his 
mouth  now  and  then  to  keep  it  alight  by  these  occasional  pulls. 
When  I  approached  the  group,  the  story  had  either  come  to  an  end 
or  he  had  been  interrupted,  he  stooped  forward,  put  some  glowing 
embers  in  his  pipe,  smoked  incessantly  and  appeared  to  be  atten- 
tively listening  to  what  a  fourth  person,  who  had  just  arrived,  had 
to  say.  This  person,  who  apparently  also  belonged  to  the  party, 
was  carrying  a  bucket  of  water  from  the  brook.  His  hair  was  red, 
and  he  was  dressed  in  a  long  jersey  jacket,  and  had  more  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  tramp  than  a  wood-cutter.  He  looked  as  if  he  had 
been  frightened  by  something  or  other. 

The  old  man  had  now  turned  round  towards  him,  and  as  I  had 
crossed  the  brook  and  was  approaching  the  party  from  the  side,  I 
could  now  see  the  old  man  plainly  in  the  full  glare  of  the  fire.  He 
was  a  short  man  with  a  long  hooked  nose.  A  blue  skull-cap  with 
a  red  border  scarcely  covered  his  head  of  bristly  grey  hair,  and  a 
short-bodied  but  long  Ringerike  coat  of  dark  grey  frieze  with  worn 
velvet  borders  served  to  make  the  roundness  and  crookedness  of 
his  back  still  more  conspicuous. 

The  new-comer  appeared  to  be  speaking  about  a  bear. 


286         A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 

•'Well,  who  would  believe  it?"  said  the  old  man,  "what  did  he 
want  there  ?  It  must  have  been  some  other  noise  you  heard,  for 
there  doesn't  grow  anything  on  the  dry  heath  hereabout  which  he 
would  be  after.  No,  not  Bruin,  not  he,"  he  added  ;  "  I  almost  think 
you  are  telling  lies,  Peter !  There's  an  old  saying,  that  red  hair 
and  firs  don't  thrive  in  good  soil,"  he  continued  half  aloud.  "  If 
it  had  been  down  in  the  bear's  den  or  in  Stygdale,  where  Knut  and 
I  both  heard  him  and  saw  him  the  other  day — but  here  ? — No,  no  ! 
he  doesn't  come  so  near  the  fire,  he  doesn't !  You  have  been 
frightening  yourself!  " 

"  Frightening  myself?  _  Oh,  dear  no  !  Didn't  I  hear  him  moving 
and  crushing  through  the  underwood,  my  canny  Thor  Lerberg  ? " 
answered  the  other,  somewhat  offended  and  chagrined  at  the  old 
man's  doubts  and  taunts. 

"  Well,  well,  my  boy,"  continued  Thor  in  his  former  tone,  "  I 
suppose  it  was  something  bigger  than  a  squirrel  anyhow  ! " 

I  now  stepped  forward,  and  said  it  must  have  been  me  that  he 
had  heard,  and  told  them  how  I  had  lost  my  way,  and  the  fright  I 
had  undergone,  and  how  hungry  and  tired  I  was.  I  asked  where- 
abouts I  was  now,  and  if  one  of  them  would  show  me  the  way  to 
Stubdale. 

My  appearance  created  considerable  surprise  to  the  party,  which 
however  was  not  so  much  apparent  in  their  words,  as  in  the  atten- 
tion with  which  they  regarded  me  and  heard  my  story.  The  old 
man,  whose  name  I  had  heard  was  Thor  Lerberg,  seemed  particu- 
larly interested  in  it ;  and  as  it  appeared  that  he  was  accustomed  to 
thinking  aloud,  I  could,  on  hearing  some  of  the  remarks  which 
he  now  and  then  mumbled  to  himself,  participate  in  his  reflections, 
thus  : 

"  No,  no,  that  was  the  wrong  way  ! — He  should  have  gone  over 
the  dam  there — Stubdale  way — he  went  wrong  altogether — he  is 
too  young — he  isn't  used  to  the  woods — ah,  that  was  the  woodcock 
— and  the  goatsucker — yes,  yes  !  it  sounds  strange  to  him,  that 
hasn't  heard  him — oh,  yes !  the  loon  does  shriek  dreadfully — par- 
ticularly when  there's  fine  rain — ah,  ah  !  yes,  that  must  have  been 
the  bear  he  met — he  is  a  brave  boy  after  all ! " 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST.        287 

"  Yes  !  "  I  said  boldly,  and  gave  vent  to  my  awakening  youthful 
courage  in  about  the  same  words  as  the  man  who  once  came  across 
a  bear  asleep  on  a  sunny  hill  side  :  "  If  it  had  been  daylight,  and  if 
I  had  been  a  hunter  and  had  a  loaded  gun  with  me,  and  if  I  could 
have  made  it  go  off,  why,  by  my  faith,  the  bear  should  •  have  lain 
dead  on  the  spot,  he  should." 

"  Yes,  of  course,  hah,  hah,  hah  !"  laughed  old  Thor,  and  chuckled 
till  the  others  joined  in  the  laughter  ;  "  of  course  he  would  have  lain 
dead  on  the  spot, — that's  plain  !  hah,  hah,  hah  !" 

"  But  you  are  now  by  Storflaaten,  the  biggest  lake  in  the  forest 
here,"  he  said,  addressing  himself  to  me,  when  I  had  finished  my 
story  ;  "  towards  morning  we'll  help  you  on  your  way,  for  we  have 
got  a  boat,  and  when  you  have  got  across  the  water  you  haven't 
far  to  go  to  Stubdale  then.  But  I  suppose  you  would  like  to  rest 
yourself  a  little  now,  and  get  something  to  eat !  I  have  nothing 
but  some  peas-pudding  and  rancid  bacon,  and  may  be  you  are  not 
used  to  that  kind  of  food  ;  but  if  you  are  hungry,  perhaps  you 
would  like  some  fish  ?  I  have  been  out  fishing,  and  fine  fish  I  got 
too, — yes,  in  the  lake  I  mean  !  " 

I  thanked  him  for  his  offer,  and  he  told  one  of  his  companions  to 
take  a  "  regular  good  'un  "  off  the  string  and  roast  it  in  the  glowing 
embers  of  the  fire. 

In  the  meantime  the  old  man  asked  a  number  of  questions  about 
myself,  and  by  the  time  I  had  answered  all  these  the  fish  was 
ready,  and  I  began  my  meal  with  great  appetite.  He  now  asked 
one  of  his  companions  to  tell  us  something  about  what  he  once  said 
had  happened  to  his  father,  when  he  was  out  cutting  timber. 

"Well,  that's  very  soon  told,"  answered  the  lad,  a  strapping 
young  fellow  of  a  smart,  undaunted  appearance,  and  not  much 
over  the  twenties.  "  Father  was  then  working  for  the  squire  in 
Ask,  and  was  cutting  timber  up  in  the  squire's  forest ;  he  used  to 
sleep  at  a  cottage  further  down  the  valley,  at  Helge  Myra's  place, 
— you  knew  Helge,  didn't  you  Thor  ? — Well,  one  day  he  had  been 
taking  too  long  a  nap  after  dinner, — such  a  heavy  sleep  came  over 
him, — and  when  he  awoke  the  sun  was  already  setting  behind  the 
hills.  But  he  would  finish  his  day's  work  before  he  left  off,  and  he 


288        A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 

began  cutting  away  till  the  splinters  flew  about  him  in  all  directions, 
but  it  grew  darker  and  darker  ;  there  was  still  a  small  pine  left, 
which  he  was  determined  to  have  down,  but  no  sooner  had  he  given 
it  the  first  cut,  than  the  axe  head  flew  off  the  handle.  He  set  about 
looking  for  it  and  found  it  at  last  in  a  hollow.  But  suddenly  he 
thought  he  heard  some  one  calling  him  by  name ;  he  could  not 
make  out  who  it  could  be,  for  Helge  Myra  could  not  have  any 
business  thereabouts,  and  no  one  else  lived  there  for  miles  around. 
He  listened  again,  but  did  not  hear  anything,  so  he  thought  he 
might  have  been  mistaken.  He  began  cutting  again,  but  all  at 
once  the  axe-head  flew  off  the  handle  again.  He  found  it  this  time 
also  after  a  long  search,  but  when  he  was  going  to  cut  the  tree  on 
the  north  side  of  its  stem,  he  heard  plainly  a  voice  shouting  in  the 
mountain  : 

"  '  Halvor,  Halvor !  Early  you  come  and  late  you  go,' '  but  as 

soon  as  I  heard  that/  said  my  father,  '  I  felt  as  if  I  had  lost  the  use 
of  my  legs  and  I  could  scarcely  get  the  axe  out  of  the  stem  of  the 
pine  tree,  but  when  I  did  take  to  my  legs  I  didn't  stop  until  I  came 
to  Helge's  cottage.' " 

"Yes,  I  have  heard  that  story  before,"  said  old  Thor,  "but  that 
wasn't  the  one  I  meant ;  it  was  about  the  time  he  was  at  the 
wedding  at  the  dairy  on  Kile  hill." 

"  Oh,  that  time  !  "  answered  the  indefatigable  lad  ;  "  that  was  in 
the  spring,  just  before  Easter  1815,  when  father  lived  at  Oppen- 
Eie — the  snow  wasn't  gone  yet,  but  he  had  to  set  out  for  the  forest 
to  cut  and  drag  home  some  wood.  He  went  up  in  the  Helling  hill, 
where  he  found  a  withered  fir,  which  he  commenced  cutting  down 
at  once.  While  cutting  away  at  it,  he  thought  he  saw  withered  firs 
all  around  him,  but  while  he  was  staring  and  wondering  at  this,  up 
came  a  procession  of  eleven  horses, — all  of  a  mouse-grey  colour  ; 
it  appeared  to  him  to  be  a  wedding-party. 

"  What  people  are  these,  who  are  coming  this  way  over  the 
hill  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  we  are  from  Osthalla,"  says  one  of  them,  "  we  are  going 
to  the  Veien  dairy  to  keep  the  wedding  ;  the  one  who  drives  in 
front  is  the  parson,  next  are  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  and  I  am 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST.         291 

his  father-in-law.  You  had  better  stand  behind  on  my  sledge  and 
come  along.' 

"  When  they  had  travelled  some  distance,  the  father-in-law  said  : 
'  Will  you  take  these  two  bags  with  you  and  go  to  the  Veien  farm 
and  get  two  barrels  of  potatoes  in  them  by  the  time  we  go  home  ? ' 

"  My  father  promised  to  do  this.  They  came  soon  to  a  place 
which  he  thought  he  knew,  and  so  it  was.  It  was  just  north 
of  the  Kill  hill,  where  the  old  dairy  stood  ;  but  there  was  no  dairy 
there  then,  but  a  great  fine  building,  and  here  they  all  entered. 
Some  one  met  them  on  the  steps  to  give  the  guests  a  glass  of 
welcome,  and  they  gave  father  a  glass  also,  but  he  said,  '  No, 
thanks  ! '  he  would  not  have  anything  he  said,  for  he  had  only  his  old 
clothes  on,  and  would  not  intrude  on  such  fine  folks.  '  Never  mind 
this  man/  said  one  of  them,  '  take  a  horse  and  see  him  on  his 
way  home,'  which  they  did  ;  they  put  him  in  a  sledge  with  a 
mouse-grey  horse  before  it,  and  one  of  them  sat  up  and  drove  the 
horse.  When  they  got  as  far  as  the  little  valley  north  of  Oppen- 
hagen — where  the  land-slip  took  place — he  thought  he  sat  between 
the  ears  of  a  bucket ;  but  shortly  this  vanished  also,  and  it  was  only 
then  he  really  came  to  himself  again.  He  began  looking  for  his 
axe,  and  found  it  sticking  in  the  same  withered  fir-tree  he  had 
begun  to  cut  down.  When  he  came  home,  he  was  so  confused  and 
queer,  that  he  could  not  tell  now  many  days  he  had  been  away  ; 
bui  he  was  only  away  from  the  morning  to  the  evening, — and  for 
some  time  afterwards  he  was  not  himself " 

"  Yes,  many  a  queer  thing  happens  hereabout,"  said  old  Thor  ; 
"  and  I  for  my  part  have  also  seen  a  little — well,  witchcraft  I  mean, 
— and  if  you  like  to  sit  up  a  little  longer,  I'll  tell  you  what  has 
happened  to  me, — in  this  here  forest,  I  mean." 

Yes,  they  would  all  like  to  hear  it  ; — to-morrow  was  Sunday,  and 
it  didn't  much  matter  if  they  went  to  bed  late. 

"  Well,  it  might  be  about  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,"  he  answered, "  I 
was  burning  charcoal  over  in  the  Kampenhaug  forest.  In  the  winter 
I  had  two  horses  there  to  cart  the  coals  to  the  Baerum  works.  One 
day  I  happened  to  stop  too  long  at  the  works,  for  I  met  some  old 
friends  from  Ringerike  there,  and  we  had  a  good  talk  about  one 

U  2 


292         A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 

thing  or  another,  and  a  little  drop  to  drink  too, — yes,  brandy  I 
mean — and  so  I  did  not  come  back  to  the  kiln  before  ten  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  I  made  a  fire,  so  I  could  see  loading  the  sledges, 
for  it  was  terribly  dark,  and  I  had  to  get  the  carts  loaded  in  the 
evening,  for  I  had  to  be  off  at  three  o'clock  next  morning,  if  I  was 
to  get  to  the  works  and  back  again  the  same  day  while  it  was  light, — 
back  to  the  kiln  I  mean.  When  I  had  got  the  fire  to  burn  up,  I 
began  loading  the  sledges.  But  just  as  I  was  turning  round  to  the 
fire  again  a  drift  of  snow  came  sweeping  down  upon  it  and  put  it 
out  entirely, — the  fire  I  mean.  So  I  thought  to  myself :  '  Why, 
bless  me,  the  old  witch  in  the  hill  here  is  vexed  to-night,  because  I 
come  home  so  late  and  disturb  her.'  I  struck  a  light  and  made  a 
new  fire.  But,  strange  to  say,  the  shovel  would  not  drop  all  the  coals 
into  the  basket, — more  than  half  went  over  the  sides.  At  last  I 
got  the  sledges  loaded,  and  I  was  going  to  put  the  ropes  round 
them,  but  will  you  believe  me,  every  one  of  them  broke,  the  one 
after  the  other, — the  ropes  I  mean.  So  I  had  to  get  new  ropes, 
and  at  last  got  the  sledges  ready,  gave  the  horses  their  fodder,  and 
went  to  bed.  But  do  you  think  I  awoke  at  three  ?  No,  not  till 
long  after  the  sun  had  risen,  and  still  I  felt  heavy  and  queer,  both 
in  my  head  and  my  body.  Well,  I  had  something  to  eat  and  went 
then  to  look  to  the  horses,  but  the  shed  was  empty  and  the  horses 
were  gone.  I  got  rather  out  of  temper  at  this,  and  I  am  afraid  I 
swore  a  little  into  the  bargain,  but  I  thought  I  had  better  try 
and  find  some  tracks  of  them.  During  the  night  there  had  fallen  a 
little  fresh  snow,  and  I  could  see  they  had  not  gone  off  in  the 
direction  of  the  valley  or  the  works.  I  found,  however,  the  track 
of  two  horses  and  of  a  couple  of  broad  large  feet  in  a  northerly 
direction  ;  I  followed  these  for  two  or  three  miles,  when  the  tracks 
parted,  and  the  foot-marks  vanished  altogether,  one  horse 'had  gone  to 
the  east,  and  the  other  to  the  west,  and  after  following  up  one  first  for 
five  or  six  miles,  I  came  upon  him  at  last.  I  had  to  take  him  home 
to  the  hut  and  tie  him  up,  before  I  could  start  looking  for  the  other 
horse.  By  the  time  I  got  hold  of  him  it  was  near  upon  noon,  and  so 
there  was  no  use  going  to  the  works  that  day.  But  I  promised  I  should 
never  disturb  the  old  witch  any  more, — in  the  evening  I  mean. 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST.         293 

"  But  these  promises  are  strange  things  sometimes, — if  you  keep  a 
promise  to  Christmas  you  are  pretty  sure  to  break  it  before  next 
Michaelmas.  The  year  after  I  made  a  trip  to  Christiania  late  in 
the  autumn, — the  roads  were  in  a  fearful  bad  condition  and  it  was 
already  very  late  in  the  afternoon  before  I  left  town,  but  I  wanted 
to  get  home  that  night.  I  was  on  horseback  and  took  the  road  by 
Bokstad,  which  is  the  shortest,  as  you  know, — to  Ausfjerdingen 
I  mean.  The  weather  was  wet  and  ugly,  and  it  was  beginning  to 
grow  dark  when  I  started.  But  when  I  came  over  the  bridge  by 
Heggelie  I  saw  a  man  coming  towards  me, — he  wasn't  very  tall,  but 
terribly  big  ;  he  was  as  broad  as  a  barn-door  across  his  shoulders,  and 
his  hands  were  nearly  a  foot  across  the  knuckles.  He  carried  a  leather 
bag  in  one  hand,  and  seemed  to  be  talking  to  himself.  When  I  came 
nearer  to  him,  his  eyes  glistened  like  burning  cinders,  and  they 
\vere  as  big  as  saucers.  His  hair  stood  out  like  bristles,  and  his 
beard  was  no  better ;  I  thought  he  was  a  terrible,  ugly  brute,  and 
I  prayed  for  myself  the  little  I  could,  and  just  as  1  came  to  the 
end,  down  he  sank, — in  the  ground  I  mean. 

"  I  rode  on,  humming  an  old  psalm,  but  suddenly  I  met  him  again 
coming  down  a  hill  ;  his  eyes  and  his  hair  and  beard  too  sparkled 
with  fire  this  time.  I  began  praying  again,  and  had  no  sooner 
finished  than  he  was  gone.  But  I  had  scarcely  ridden  a  mile,  before 
I  met  him  once  more  as  I  was  crossing  a  small  bridge.  His  eyes 
flashed  like  lightning  and  sparks  flew  out  of  his  hair  and  beard, 
and  so  he  shook  his  bag,  till  you  could  see  blue  and  yellow  and  red 
tongues  of  fire  shooting  out  of  it.  But  then  I  lost  my  temper  right 
out,  and  instead  of  praying  I  swore  at  him,  and  he  vanished  on  the 
spot.  But  as  I  rode  on,  I  began  to  be  afraid  that  I  should  meet 
this  brute  again,  so  when  I  came  to  Lovlie  I  knocked  at  the  door, 
and  asked  for  lodgings  till  daylight,  but  do  you  think  they  would 
let  me  in  ?  No.  I  could  travel  by  day,  like  other  folks,  they  sa:d, 
and  then  I  needn't  ask  for  lodgings ! — So  I  guessed  the  old  brute 
had  been  there  before  me  and  frightened  them,  and  I  had  to  set  out 
again.  But  then  I  started  another  old  psalm,  till  the  mountains  rang 
with  it,  and  I  came  at  last  safe  to  Stubdale,  where  I  got  lodgings — 
but  it  was  almost  morning  then." 


294 


A  SUMMER  NIGHT  IN  A  NORWEGIAN  FOREST. 


The  manner  rn  which  he  told  these  stories  was,  like  his  speech, 
slow  and  expressive,  and  he  had  the  custom  of  repeating  single 
words,  or  part  of  his  sentences  at  the  end  of  these,  or  adding  one  or 
another  superfluous  explanation.  He  generally  applied  these  remarks 
after  one  of  his  many  exertions  to  keep  his  pipe  alight,  and  they 
had  such  a  comical  effect  on  me,  that  I  had  great  difficulty  to 
refrain  from  laughing  outright.  I  was  in  a  merry  mood  after  having 
safely  got  through  my  nocturnal  expedition,  and  to  this  I  must 
ascribe  the  fact  that  his  stories  did  not  make  the  impression  upon 
me  which,  after  what  I  had  gone  through,  might  have  been 
expected. 

The  dawn  of  the  day  was  now  appearing,  and  old  Thor  told  one 
of  his  companions  to  row  me  across  the  lake,  and  put  me  on  my 
right  road. 


e^& 


THE    WITCH. 


ON  a  hill,  some  distance  from  the  main  road  in  the  middle  of 
Gudbrandsdale,  some  years  ago  stood  a  cottage.  Perhaps  it  is 
there  still.  It  was  mild  April  weather, — the  snow  was  melting,  the 
brooks  rushed  wildly  down  the  mountain  sides,  the  fields  were 
nearly  bare,  the  thrushes  were  scolding  each  other  in  the  woods,  all 
the  groves  resounded  with  the  twittering  of  birds, — in  short  there 
was  every  sign  of  an  early  spring. 

In  the  mighty  birch  tree  and  lofty  mountain  ash,  which  stretched 
out  their  naked  branches  over  the  roof  of  the  cottage  in  the  glittering 
sunlight,  some  busy  tomtits  whisked  about,  while  a  chaffinch,  who 
had  perched  himself  in  the  top  of  the  birch  tree,  sung  out  at  the  top 
of  his  voice. 


296  THE  WITCH. 

Inside  in  the  smoky  room  with  the  raftered  ceiling,  it  was  dark 
and  dismal.  A  middle-aged  peasant  woman  of  a  very  common  and 
unintellectual  appearance  was  busy  blowing  into  a  blaze  some 
branches  and  sticks  of  wood  under  the  coffee-kettle  on  the  open 
hearth.  Having  at  last  succeeded  in  this,  she  raised  herself  up, 
rubbed  the  smoke  and  the  ashes  out  of  her  smarting  eyes,  and 
said  : 

"  People  say  there's  no  use  in  this  lead-melting, — for  the  child 
hasn't  got  the  wasting  sickness  ;  they  say  it's  a  changeling.  There 
was  a  fell-maker  here  the  other  day  and  he  said  the  same,  for  when 
he  was  a  youngster,  he  had  seen  a  changeling  in  Ringerike  some- 
where, and  that  one  was  as  soft  in  its  body  and  as  loose  about  its 
joints  as  this  one." 

While  she  spoke,  her  simple  face  had  assumed  an  expression  of 
anxiety,  which  showed  what  impression  the  fell-maker's  words  had 
made  upon  her  superstitious  mind. 

She  addressed  her  words  to  a  big  bony  woman,  whose  age  might 
be  about  sixty.  She  was  unusually  tall,  but  when  she  was  sitting, 
she  appeared  to  be  of  low  stature,  and  this  peculiarity  she  had  to 
thank  for  the  nickname  of"  Longlegs,"  which  the  people  had  added 
to  her  name  of  Gubjor.  In  the  gang  of  tramps  with  whom  she 
used  to  roam  about,  she  had  other  names.  Grey  hairs  straggled 
out  from  under  her  head-gear,  which  surrounded  a  dark  face  with 
bushy  eyebrows  and  a  long  knotted  nose.  The  original  unintel- 
lectual expression  of  her  face,  which  was  clearly  indicated  by  a  low 
forehead  and  great  breadth  between  the  cheekbones,  contrasted 
greatly  with  the  unmistakable  cunning  in  her  small  sparkling 
eyes.  Her  dress  betokened  her  as  a  straggler  from  some  northern 
district;  her  whole  appearance  denoted  that  if  she  were  not  a 
witch,  she  was  at  least  a  tramp,  who  would  be  now  impudent  and 
audacious,  now  humble  and  cringing,  according  to  circumstances. 

While  the  peasant  woman  was  speaking  and  attending  to  the 
coffee-kettle,  Gubjor  was  keeping  in  motion  a  hanging  cradle  in 
which  lay  a  child  of  a  sickly  appearance,  by  giving  it  now  and  then 
a  push  with  her  hand.  She  replied  to  the  peasant  woman  in  a  calm 
tone  of  superiority,  although  her  sparkling  eyes  and  the  quivering 


THE  WITCH.  297 

muscles  round  her  mouth  showed  that  she  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  statement  of  the  fell-maker. 

"  Folks  will  talk  so  much  about  things  they  don't  understand,  my 
dear  Marit,"  she  said  ;  "  they  talk  fast  and  loose,  and,  as  for  the  fell- 
maker,  he  may  understand  sheep's  skin  well  enough,  but  sickness 
and  changelings  he  knows  nothing  about,  I  say  and  maintain  ! — 
I  should  think  I  ought  to  know  something  about  changelings,  for  I 
have  seen  enough  of  them.  That  changeling  he  spoke  about  must 
have  been  Brit's  from  Froen,  for  I  recollect  she  had  a  changeling ; 
she  got  it  soon  after  she  was  married, — she  had  a  very  good  and 
nice  child,  but  it  was  changed  for  a  troll's  brat  as  ill-tempered 
and  unruly  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  fiend  himself.  He  would  never 
speak  a  word, — only  eat  and  cry,  and  she  hadn't  the  heart  to  strike 
it  or  illtreat  the  youngster  either ;  but  somebody  taught  her  a 
charm  to  make  him  speak,  and  then  she  found  out  what  kind  of 
a  brat  he  really  was.  She  got  hold  of  him  one  day  and  began  to 
thrash  him  soundly  and  called  him  all  sorts  of  names,  when 
suddenly  the  door  flew  open  and  somebody, — whom  of  course  she 
couldn't  see, — rushed  into  the  room,  tore  the  changeling  away  from 
her,  and  threw  her  own  child  on  to  the  floor  with  such  violence 
that  it  began  to  cry. — Or  perhaps  it  was  the  changeling  that  Siri 
Stromhugget  had  ?  That  was  an  old-fashioned,  dried-up  youngster, 
and  I  don't  think  he  had  any  joints  at  all, — but  he  was  no  more 
like  your  child  here  than  this  old  cap  of  mine !  I  recollect  her 
youngster  well  enough  too.  I  served  at  the  parish  clerk's  at  that 
time,  when  I  saw  it  more  than  once,  and  I  also  recollect  how  she 
got  rid  of  it.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  it  at  the  time, 
for  Siri,  as  you  know,  came  from  this  parish.  When  she  was  quite 
young,  she  served  at  Kvam  ;  after  that  she  moved  to  Stromhugget, 
where  she  was  married  to  Ola, — the  son  there.  Soon  after  her 
first  child  was  born,  a  strange  woman  came  into  the  room  and  took 
the  child  from  the  bed  and  put  another  in  its  place.  Siri,  who  was 
ill  in  bed,  tried  to  get  up  and  get  her  child  back, — she  struggled 
with  all  her  might,  but  she  could  not  move  from  the  spot, — she 
was  spell-bound  and  quite  powerless.  She  was  going  to  call  her 
aunt,  who  was  in  the  next  room,  but  she  could  not  open  her 


298  THE  WITCH. 


mouth,  and  she  was  just  as  frightened  as  if  they  had  been  going 
to  take  her  life.  It  was  easy  enough  to  see  that  the  child  was 
a  changeling,  for  it  wasn't  like  other  children  at  all — it  screamed 
and  cried,  as  if  a  knife  stuck  in  it,  and  it  wheezed  and  hit  about 
with  its  arms  like  a  huldre-cat,  and  was  as  ugly  as  sin.  It  was 
always  eating,  and  poor  Siri  didn't  for  the  life  of  her  know  how  to 
get  rid  of  it.  But  at  last  she  heard  of  a  woman  who  knew 
something  about  these  things,  and  she  told  her  to  take  the 
youngster  and  flog  him  with  a  proper  rod  three  Thursday  evenings 
in  succession. — Yes,  she  did  so,  and  the  third  Thursday  evening  a 
woman  came  flying  over  the  barn-roof,  and  threw  a  child  away 
from  her  and  took  up  the  changeling.  But  as  she  rushed  off  she 
struck  Siri  across  the  fingers;  and  she  carries  the  marks  to  this  day, 
and  I  have  seen  them  with  my  own  eyes,"  added  Gubjor,  as  a 
further  proof  of  the  truth  of  her  story.  "  No,  this  child  is  no  more 
a  changeling  than  I  am  ;  and  how  could  it  happen,  that  they  could 
change  yours  after  all  the  trouble  you  have  taken  to  prevent  it  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  Well,  no!  that's  what  I  cannot  make  out  either,"  said  the  mother 
quite  innocently,  "for  I've  had  castor  in  the  cradle, — I  have  crossed 
him,  and  I  put  a  silver  brooch  in  his  shirt,  and  I  stuck  a  knife  in  the 
beam  over  the  door,  so  I  don't  know  how  they  could  have  managed 
to  change  him." 

"  Well  then,  they  can't  have  had  any  power  over  him  either.  I 
know  all  about  that,  I  should  think,"  began  Gubjor  again,  "  for  in 
a  parish  close  to  Christiania  I  once  knew  a  woman  who  had  a  child, 
which  she  was  so  very  careful  about, — she  made  crosses  over  it  and 
used  castor  and  everything  else  she  had  heard  of,  for  there  was  plenty 
of  witchcraft  thereabout,  I  can  tell  you  ;  but  one  night,  as  she  lay  in 
bed,  with  the  child  by  her  side  near  the  edge  of  the  bed,  her 
husband,  who  was  lying  near  the  wall,  awoke  suddenly  and  saw 
such  a  red  glare  all  over  the  room,  just  like  when  one  stirs  the  fire, 
— and  sure  enough,  there  was  some  one  stirring  the  fire  too,  for  when 
he  looked  towards  the  fireplace,  he  saw  an  old  man  sitting  there 
raking  the  fire  together.  He  was  an  ugly  brute, — uglier  than  I  can 
describe, — and  he  had  a  long  grey  beard.  When  he  had  got  the 


THE  WITCH. 


299 


fire  to  give  a  good  light,  he  began  stretching  his  arms  out  for  the 
child,  but  he  could  not  move  from  the  stool  he  sat  on.  His  arms 
grew  longer  and  longer,  till  they  reached  half  way  across  the  room, 


but  he  didn't  stir  from  the  fire,  and  couldn't  reach  the  child.  He 
sat  thus  for  some  time,  while  the  husband  was  so  frightened  that  he 
didn't  know  what  to  do.  He  then  heard  some  one  moving  outside 
the  window. 


THE  WITCH. 


" '  I  say,  Peter,  why  don't  you  come  ? '  asked  a  voice  outside. 

""Hold  your  tongue,  woman!'  said  the  old  man,  who  was 
sitting  by  the  fire,  'they  have  been  crossing  and  fiddling  over 
this  youngster,  so  I  can't  get  it.' 

"  '  Well,  you  might  come  back,  so  we  can  be  off/  said  the  voice 
again.  It  was  the  old  man's  wife,  who  was  waiting  outside  to 
receive  the  youngster. 

"  But  just  look  at  this  fine  little  boy ! "  said  the  sorceress  with 
affected  kindness,  as  she  took  the  child,  who  had  just  woke  up,  and 
vigorously  resisted  the  strange  woman's  caresses  and  began  crying 
at  the  apparently  coaxing,  but  really  repulsive,  expression  of  the 
woman  ;  "  he  is  as  white  as  snow  and  pure  as  an  angel ;  he  is  rather 
weak  about  the  joints,  that  he  is, — but  to  say  he  is  a  changeling, 
that's  a  mistake,  I  say. — No,  it's  wasting  sickness,"  she  added,  as 
she  turned  round  to  the  mother  with  a  lofty  air  of  conviction  ;  "  it's 
wasting  sickness ! " 

"  Hush,  I  fancy  I  heard  some  one  knocking  outside.  Mercy  on  me, 
if  it's  my  husband  who  has  come  back  !  "  said  Marit,  terrified  at  being 
surprised  by  her  husband  in  company  with  the  sorceress  over  a  cup 
of  coffee.  She  ran  to  the  door  and  looked  out,  but  there  was 
nobody  there  but  a  brindled  cat,  which  sat  on  the  steps  licking  her 
paws  after  a  hunt  in  the  neighbouring  bush,  and  a  woodpecker, 
which  was  pecking  away  at  the  sunburnt  logs  of  the  cottage  wall, 
trying  to  wake  up  the  drowsy  insects  from  their  winter  sleep  in  the 
holes  and  crevices  in  the  timber,  and  turning  his  head  every 
moment,  as  if  he  was  looking  for  some  one,  but  it  was  only  an  April 
shower  he  was  expecting. 

"Is  there  anybody  there?"  asked  Gubjor.  On  receiving  an 
answer  in  the  negative,  she  continued  :  "Well,  we  had  better  leave 
the  door  open,  so  we  can  have  the  benefit  of  the  sun  and  see 
when  your  husband  comes  home, — for  I  suppose  he's  coming  that 
way.' ' 

"  He  went  with  his  sledge  to  get  a  load  of  leaves  for  the  goats," 
answered  Marit ;  "  but  I'm  so  afraid  he'll  be  finding  us  out.  Last 
time  when  he  heard  that  you  had  been  here,  he  was  that  wild  that 
I  didn't  know  what  to  say.  He  said  he  would  give  me  money  to 


THE  WITCH.  301 


go  to  the  doctor  with,  for  he  won't  hear  of  any  such  goings  on,  or 
any  magic  curing  ;  for  he  is  well  read,  and  doesn't  believe  in  the 
fairies  any  longer,  since  he  went  about  with  that  schoolmaster  of 
ours." 

"  To  the  doctor's  ?  Bah  !  "  said  the  sorceress,  and  spat  upon  the 
floor.  "  Yes,  I  would  advise  anybody  to  go  to  that  stuck-up  grandee 
with  this  wee  bit  of  a  body.  If  one  doesn't  come  with  gold  and 
fine  presents,"  she  continued,  with  an  affected  air  of  superior  know- 
ledge, "  he  bites  and  worries  you  as  if  you  were  dogs,  and  not 
people.  Why,  what  happened  that  time  Gjertrud  Kostibakken 
lay  with  the  last  gasp  of  breath  in  her  body  ?  He  wouldn't  go  to 
a  tramp,  for  he  was  at  a  Christmas  party  at  the  magistrates',  nor 
did  he  go  either  till  he  was  threatened  both  with  bishop  and  judge  ; 
and  he  might  have  saved  himself  the  trouble,  for  when  he  came  to 
the  door  the  poor  woman  was  dead.  No  !  to  go  to  the  doctor's 
with  a  childlike  this, — suffering  with  wasting  sickness,  is  madman's 
work  !  But,  dear  me  ! "  she  said  with  a  sneer,  "you  may  go  to  him 
for  what  I  care,  but  if  he  can  help  you  as  much  as  this — ,  may  I 
never  be  able  to  cure  another  in  my  life.  They  don't  know  any- 
thing about  this  wasting  sickness,  bless  you  !  There's  nothing  about 
it  in  their  books,  and  they  don't  know  of  any  remedy  for  it ! — and 
they  know  that  well  enough  too, — that's  the  reason  they  don't  give 
any  powders  or  drugs  and  such  nasty  stuff  for  it.  No,  there's  no 
other  remedy  but  lead-melting,  but  they  don't  know  anything 
about  that." 

"  Let's  put  the  ladle  on,  mother,"  she  began  in  a  different  tone, 
"  it's  getting  on  towards  noon.  If  we  have  melted  twice,  we'll 
have  to  melt  the  third  time  as  well,  or  we  don't  know  what  might 
happen.  The  child  has  the  wasting  sickness,  but  there  are  nine  sorts 
of  that  disease  in  the  world,  as  I've  told  you  already, — and  you 
saw  yourself  he  had  both  the  goblin-spell  and  the  water-spell,  for 
the  first  Thursday  the  lead  showed  a  man  with  two  big  horns  and 
a  tail.  That  was  the  goblin-spell.  Last  time  it  was  a  mermaid,  you 
saw  it  as  plainly  as  if  it  had  been  drawn.  That  was  the  water-spell. 
But  now  Thursday  has  come  round  again,  and  the  question  is  what 
will  it  show  now?  The  third  time  is  the  most  important,  you  must 


302  THE  WITCH. 


know.  There,  take  the  child,"  she  said,  as  she  gave  it  to  its  mother. 
"  Let  me  finish  this  drop  of  coffee,  and  I'll  set  to  at  once." 

When  the  coffee  was  drunk,  and  the  cup  was  put  away  with  many 
thanks  and  blessings,  she  went  demurely  to  the  hearth,  and  pulled 
out  a  snuff-horn. 

"  Since  last  Thursday,"  she  said,  "  I've  been  in  seven  parishes 
and  scraped  lead  off  the  frames  of  church-windows  at  midnight, 
for  I  used  the  last  of  my  lead  last  Thursday.  It's  trying  both  to 
mind  and  body,"  she  mumbled  to  herself,  while  she  shook  out  from 
the  snuff-horn  some  of  the  lead,  which,  according  to  her  statement, 
she  had  collected  under  so  many  difficulties. 

"  I  suppose  you  have  brought  some  water  from  a  brook  running 
north  at  midnight  ?  "  she  inquired  further. 

"  Yes.  I  was  down  by  the  mill-stream  last  night ;  it's  the  only 
stream  running  north  for  a  long  way  round,"  answered  the  peasant 
woman,  as  she  brought  out  a  carefully  closed  pail,  from  which  she 
poured  the  water  into  a  large  beer-bowl.  Across  this  was  placed 
a  thin  oatmeal  cake,  through  which  a  hole  was  made  with  a 
darning  needle.  When  the  lead  was  melted,  Gubjor  went  to  the 
door,  looked  up  at  the  sun,  took  the  ladle  and  poured  the  melted 
lead  slowly  through  the  hole  into  the  water,  while  she  mumbled 
some  words  over  it  which  seemed  to  be  to  this  effect : — 

"  I  conjure  for  sickness,  I  conjure  for  pain- 
I  conjure  it  off,  and  I  call  it  again — 
I  conjure  the  weather,  the  wind,  and  the  rain  ! 
I  have  spells  for  the  north,  I  have  charms  for  the  west, 
And  the  south  and  the  east  must  obey  my  behest — 
I  conjure  in  water,  I  conjure  on  land, 
I  conjure  in  rocks,  and  I  conjure  in  sand — 
I  conjure  pain  into  the  alder-tree  root — 
I  conjure  disease  into  tiny  foal's  foot — 
Where  the  flame  of  Gehenna  comes  bellowing  forth, 
Or  where  the  charmed  waters  flow  on  to  the  north, 
There,  there  shall  pain  wither,  consumed  by  my  spell, 
And  with  the  poor  babe  all  shall  henceforth  be  well  ! " 


THE  WITCH.  303 

As  was  only  natural,  the  boiling  lead  hissed  and  spluttered  as  it 
was  poured  into  the  water. 

"  Just  listen  to  the  wickedness  of  it, — it  must  come  out  now," 
said  the  sorceress  Do  the  peasant  woman,  who  with  a  mixed  feeling 
of  fear  and  awe,  stood  listening  with  the  child  in  her  arms.  When 
the  oatmeal  cake  was  taken  off  the  bowl,  a  couple  of  figures  formed 
by  the  melted  lead  were  seen  in  the  water.  The  sorceress  regarded 
them  for  some  time,  with  her  head  on  one  side  ;  she  then  began 
nodding  it  and  said  : — 

"  Corpse-spell,  corpse-spell  ! — first  goblin-spell,  then  water-spell, 
and  now  corpse-spell.  One  of  them  would  have  been  enough ! " 
she  added,  shaking  her  head.  "  Yes,  I  now  see  how  it  all  has 
happened,"  she  continued  aloud,  and  turned  round  to  the  mistress 
of  the  house.  "  First,  you  travelled  through  a  wood  and  past  a  hill 
while  the  trolls  were  out,  there  you  blessed  the  child.  You  then 
crossed  a  river,  and  there  you  also  blessed  the  child  ;  but  when  you 
came  past  the  churchyard, — it  was  before  the  cock  crowed, — you 
forgot  to  bless  the  child,  and  there  it  caught  the  corpse-spell." 

"  Bless  me, — how  do  you  know  that  ? "  exclaimed  Marit  with 
great  surprise.  "  Every  word  you  say  is  true.  When  we  left  the 
dairy  last  summer  on  our  way  home,  it  was  rather  late  before  we 
started,  as  some  of  the  sheep  got  astray  from  us,  and  it  was  growing 
dark  by  the  time  we  got  down  into  the  valley, — once  I  thought  I 
saw  the  glimmer  of  a  light  over  in  the  forest  and  I  heard  something 
like  a  gate  being  opened  in  the  Vesaet  hill, — they  say  there  are 
fairies  there — and  then  I  blessed  the  child.  When  we  crossed  the 
river,  I  heard  a  terrible  cry,  and  I  blessed  the  child  again, — the 
others  said  it  was  only  the  loon,  which  screamed  for  bad  weather." 

"  Yes,  that  would  have  been  sufficient,  if  there  was  nothing  else 
but  the  loon,"  said  Gubjor  ;  "when  it  screams  at  a  new-born  babe, 
that  child  is  bewitched." 

"  Yes,  I  have  also  heard  that,"  said  the  mother ;  "  but  when  we 
came  past  the  churchyard, — it  was  just  past  midnight — then  the  bull 
got  unruly  and  we  had  such  trouble  to  keep  the  cattle  together,  that 
I  forgot  to  bless  the  child  there." 

"  That's  where  the  child  caught  it  then,  you  may  be  sure,  for  the 


304  THE  WITCH. 

corpse-spell  comes  from  the  churchyard.  Just  look  yourself  in  the 
bowl  here :  there  stands  a  coffin  and  there  is  a  church  steeple,  and 
in  the  coffin  lies  a  corpse,  spreading  out  its  fingers,"  said  the  sorceress 
with  great  importance,  as  she  explained  these  mystic  figures  of  the 
melted  lead. 

"  Humph, — but  there  is  a  remedy !  "  she  mumbled  to  herself  again, 
but  sufficiently  loud  to  be  heard  by  the  other. 

"  What  remedy  is  that  ?  "  asked  the  mother,  both  glad  and 
curious. 

"  There's  a  remedy, — it  does  try  one,  but  never  mind,"  said 
Gubjor ;  "  I  shall  make  a  dummy  baby,  which  I  shall  bury  in  the 
churchyard,  and  then  the  dead  will  believe  they  have  got  the  child, 
— take  my  word,  they  won't  know  but  what  it  is  the  real  baby  ! 
But  we  must  have  some  family  silver  to  go  with  it !  Have  you 
got  any  ? " 

"  Yes,  I  have  a  couple  of  old  silver  coins,  which  were  given  me 
when  I  was  baptized,  and  I  didn't  want  to  touch  them  ; — but  if  life 

depends  upon  it "  said  the  anxious  mother,  and  she  began  at 

once  searching  in  an  old  chest. 

"Yes, — one  I  shall  put  in  the  hill, — the  other  in  water, — the 
third  I  shall  bury  in  consecrated  ground,  where  the  disease  was 
caught.  I  must  have  three  in  all,"  said  the  sorceress,  "  and  some 
old  rags  to  make  a  dummy  of." 

She  got  what  she  asked  for.  A  big  doll  was  soon  made  up  in  the 
shape  of  a  wrapped-up  baby.  The  sorceress  rose  from  her  seat, 
took  the  dummy  baby  and  her  stick,  and  said  : 

"  I'm  going  now  to  the  churchyard  to  bury  it.  The  third  Thurs- 
day from  to-day  I  shall  be  back  again, — then  we'll  see  !  If  there 
is  going  to  be  life,  you  can  see  yourself  in  the  pupils  of  the  child's 
eye,  but  if  he  is  going  to  die  you'll  see  something  black  and  nothing 
else.  And  now  I  must  be  off  to  Joramo.  I  haven't  been  there  for 
a  long  time  ;  but  they  sent  word  to  me  to  come  and  see  a 
youngster  who  has  got  the  troll-spell.  But  that's  an  easy  matter  ! 
I'll  push  him  under  a  piece  of  turf  the  contrary  way  to  which  the 
sun  goes,  and  then  he'll  be  a  man  again." 

"  Dear   me,    dear   me ! "  said   the   peasant   woman   admiringly, 


THE  WITCH.  305 


"  Joramo ! — Why,  that's  in  Lesje  !  Bless  me,  are  you  going  such 
a  long  way  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  long  way  off !  I  was  bred  and  born  there,"  said 
Gubjor;  "  I  have  travelled  much,  but  gathered  little,  since  I  was 
there.  It  was  better  times  for  Gubjor  then,"  she  added  with  a  sigh, 
as  she  sat  down  on  the  settle.  "  But  in  Joramo  there  was  once  a 
changeling,"  she  continued,  as  some  legend  from  olden  times  came 
into  her  mind  on  recalling  some  of  the  memories  of  her  childhood. 
"  My  aunt's  great  grandmother  who  lived  at  Joramo  had  a  change- 
ling. I  never  saw  it,  for  both  she  and  the  child  was  gone  long  before 
I  was  born,  but  my  mother  often  spoke  about  it.  The  child  looked 
like  an  old  man  with  a  weather-beaten  face, — his  eyes  were  as  red 
as  fire,  and  glowed  like  an  owl's  eyes  in  the  dark.  He  had  a  head 
as  long  as  a  horse's  head  and  as  round  as  a  cabbage  ;  the  legs  were 
as  thin  as  a  sheep's,  and  his  body  looked  like  last  year's  dried 
mutton.  He  was  always  crying  and  howling,  and  if  he  got  hold 
of  anything,  he  threw  it  right  into  his  mother's  face.  He  was 
always  hungry,  like  the  parish  dog, — everything  he  saw  he  must 
have,  and  he  very  nearly  ate  them  out  of  house  and  home.  The  older 
he  grew,  the  worse  he  grew,  and  there  was  no  end  to  his  howling 
and  wailing.  They  could  never  make  him  speak  a  word,  although 
he  was  old  enough, — in  short,  he  was  a  perfect  worry  night  and 
day.  They  tried  for  advice  here  and  there  and  everywhere,  and  the 
poor  woman  was  told  to  try  this  and  that  and  everything.  She 
hadn't  the  heart  to  thrash  him  till  she  was  sure  he  really  was  a 
changeling,  but  then  somebody  told  her  how  she  could  find  it  out. — 
She  was  to  say  that  the  king  was  coming,  and  then  she  was  to  make 
a  big  fire  on  the  hearth  and  break  an  egg  in  two.  Half  of  the 
shell  she  was  to  put  over  the  fire,  and  then  a  long  pole  down  the 
chimney  into  the  shell. — Well,  she  did  that ;  but  when  the  change- 
ling saw  this,  he  sat  upright  in  the  cradle  and  stared  at  it.  The 
woman  went  out  of  the  room,  but  peeped  in  through  the  keyhole. 
He  then  crept  out  of  the  cradle  on  his  hands,  but  his  legs  stuck 
in  the  cradle,  and  he  stretched  himself  out,  till  he  was  so  long 
that  he  reached  right  across  the  floor  to  the  hearth. 

"  '  Well,  well,'  he  said,  '  I  am  now  as  old  as  seven  generations  of 


306 


THE  WITCH. 


trees  in  the  Lesjewood,  but  I  have  never  seen  such  a  big  porridge 
stick  in  such  a  little  porridge  pot  as  that  on  Joramo.' 

"  When  the  woman  saw  and  heard  this,  she  knew  well  enough  it 
was  a  changeling,  and  when  she  came  in,  he  crawled  back  into  the 
cradle  like  a  worm.  She  then  began  to  be  hard  on  him,  and  on  the 


Thursday  evening  she  took  him  out  behind  the  cowhouse  and  gave 
him  a  sound  thrashing.  She  thought  she  heard  some  one  whining 
and  crying  near  her.  The  second  Thursday  night  she  served  him 
in  the  same  way,  but  when  she  thought  he  had  had  enough,  she 


THE  WITCH.  307 

heard  a  voice  speaking  close  to  her,  and  she  thought  she  could 
recognise  the  voice  of  her  own  child  : — 

" '  Every  time  you  hit  that  Tjostul,  the  people  in  the  hill  hit  me.' 

"  The  third  Thursday  evening  she  gave  the  changeling  a  thrashing 
again,  and  suddenly  a  woman,  carrying  a  youngster,  came  rushing 
up  to  her,  as  if  she  had  burnt  herself. 

"  '  Give  me  Tjostul  back  again, — there's  your  own  brat ! '  she 
said,  as  she  threw  the  child  at  the  woman,  who  stretched  out  her 
hands  to  receive  it ;  she  got  hold  of  one  leg,  which  she  held  in  her 
hand,  but  the  rest  of  the  child  she  never  saw, — so  violent  had  the 
troll's  wife  thrown  it  from  her." 

During  this  story  the  mistress  of  the  house  began  to  show 
unmistakable  signs  of  uneasiness,  and  towards  its  end  they  became 
so  apparent,  that  even  the  story- teller,  who  seemed  to  be  fully  taken 
up  by  her  narrative,  also  noticed  them. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  said  the  witch.  "  Oh,  I  see  ! — it's  your 
husband  that's  coming,"  she  continued,  as  she  looked  out  through 
the  open  door,  and  added  in  a  grave  tone  :  "  There's  no  room  here 
for  Gubjor  any  longer ;  but  don't  you  be  afraid,  mother ; — I'll  go 
round  by  the  churchyard,  and  then  he  won't  see  me." 


X  1 


THE    CHARCOAL-BURNER. 


THERE  was  once  upon  a  time  a  charcoal-burner  who  had  a  son, 
and  he  was  also  a  charcoal-burner.  When  the  father  died,  the  son 
got  married,  but  he  would  not  do  any  work,  and  he  neglected  also 
to  look  after  his  kilns,  and  very  soon  no  one  would  have  him  to 
burn  charcoal  any  more  for  them. 

But  one  day  he  had  got  a  kiln  of  charcoal  ready  burnt,  and  he  set 
out  for  town  with  some  loads  of  it  and  sold  them.  When  he  had 
done  his  business,  he  loitered  down  some  of  the  streets  and  looked 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER.  309 

about  him.  On  his  way  home  he  fell  in  with  some  neighbours  and 
other  people  from  the  same  parish,  and  he  talked  and  bragged  to 
them  about  all  that  he  had  seen  in  town. 

The  most  remarkable  thing  he  saw,  he  said,  was  the  great 
number  of  parsons  he  met,  and  all  the  people  in  the  streets  took 
off  their  hats  to  them.  "I  wish  I  was  a  parson,"  he  said,  "perhaps 
the  people  would  take  off  their  hats  to  me  too  ;  now,  they  don't 
appear  to  see  me  at  all." 

"  Well,  your  clothes  are  black  enough,  anyhow,"  said  his  neigh- 
bours ;  "  but  now  that  we  are  on  the  way,  we  may  as  well  call  in 
at  the  sale  at  the  old  parson's,  and  get  a  glass  with  the  others, 
— and  you  can  buy  yourself  a  gown  and  ruff1  at  the  same  time." 

Yes,  he  did  so,  and  when  he  came  home  he  hadn't  a  penny 
left. 

"  I  suppose  you  have  brought  both  money  and  good  manners 
home  with  you  from  town  this  time  ?  "  said  his  wife. 

"  Good  manners  !  yes,  I  should  think  so,"  said  the  charcoal-burner. 
"Just  look  here  !  I  am  a  parson  now.  Here  is  both  the  gown  and 
the  ruff!  " 

"  Yes,  very  likely  ! "  said  his  wife ;  "  strong  beer  makes  big  words, 
it  appears !  You  don't  care  how  things  go  !  " 

"  You  shouldn't  boast  or  bother  about  the  coals  you  are  burning, 
till  they  are  ready,"  answered  the  husband. 

But  one  day  a  great  many  people,  dressed  like  parsons,  passed 
the  charcoal-burner's  house  on  their  way  to  the  palace,  and  it  was 
plain  to  see  that  something  was  going  to  take  place  there,  so 
the  charcoal-burner  thought  he  would  go  as  well,  and  put  on  the  old 
parson's  clothes.  His  wife  thought  it  would  be  wiser  of  him  to  stay 
at  home,  for  even  if  he  got  the  chance  to  hold  a  horse  for  some 
grand  person,  she  was  afraid  the  sixpence  he  got  for  it  would  vanish 
down  his  throat,  which  usually  was  the  case.  "  Yes,  everybody  talks 
about  the  drink,  but  no  one  about  the  thirst,  do  they,  mother  ?  " 
said  the  husband  ;  "the  more  one  drinks,  the  more  one  thirsts,"  and 
with  that  he  started  for  the  palace.  All  the  strangers  were  invited 
to  come  into  the  presence  of  the  king,  and  the  charcoal-burner 

1  The  Norwegian  clergy  wear  a  long  black  gown  and  an  Elizabethan  ruff. 


310  THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER. 

entered  with  the  others.  The  king  then  told  them  that  he  had  lost 
his  most  costly  ring,  and  he  felt  sure  it  had  been  stolen.  He  had 
therefore  called  together  all  the  learned  clergy  in  the  country,  to 
hear  if  any  of  them  could  tell  him  who  the  thief  was.  And  the 
king  promised  that  he  would  handsomely  reward  the  one  who  could 
tell  him  about  it, — if  he  was  a  curate,  he  should  get  a  living ;  if 
he  was  a  rector,  he  should  be  made  a  dean  ;  if  Yie  was  a  dean,  he 
should  be  made  a.  bishop ;  and  if  he  was  a  bishop,  he  should  be  the 
first  man  after  the  king.  So  the  king  went  from  one  to  the  other, 
and  asked  them  all  if  they  could  tell  him  who  the  thief  was,  and 
when  he  came  to  the  charcoal  burner,  he  said  :  "  Who  are  you  ? " 

"  I  am  the  wise  parson  and  the  true  prophet,"  said  the  charcoal- 
burner. 

"  Then  you  can  tell  me  who  has  taken  my  ring  ? "  said  the  king. 

"  Well,  it  isn't  beyond  sense  and  reason,  that  what  has  happened 
in  the  dark  might  be  brought  to  light,"  said  the  charcoal-burner  ; 
"  but  it  isn't  every  year  that  the  salmon  plays  in  the  fir-tops.  I 
have  now  been  studying  and  working  for  seven  years  to  get  bread 
for  myself  and  my  family,  but  I  haven't  got  a  living  yet,  so  if 
the  thief  is  to  be  found,  I  must  have  plenty  of  time  and  paper, 
for  I  must  write  and  reckon  early  and  late." 

Yes,  he  should  have  as  much  time  and  paper  as  he  wished,  if 
he  only  could  find  the  thief. 

So  he  got  a  room  to  himself  in  the  palace,  and  before  long  they 
found  out  that  Jie  must  know  something  more  than  writing  a 
sermon,  for  he  used  so  much  paper  that  it  lay  about  in  heaps ; 
but  there  wasn't  one  who  could  make  out  a  word  of  all  he  had 
written,  for  it  was  only  pothooks  and  marks  like  a  crow's  toes. 
But  the  time  wore  on,  and  he  could  not  find  any  trace  of  the 
thief. 

So  the  king  got  tired  of  waiting,  and  told  him  that  if  he  couldn't 
find  the  thief  in  three  days,  he  should  lose  his  life. 

"  Ah,  but  he  that  rules  must  not  be  hasty,  but  wait  till  his  temper 
cools,"  said  the  charcoal-burner.  "  One  can't  begin  and  rake  out 
the  coals,  till  they  are  thoroughly  burnt  and  the  fire  has  gone  out." 

Put  the  king  stuck  to  what  he  said,  and  the  charcoal-burner  felt 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER.  311 

his  life  wasn't  worth  much.  Now  it  so  happened,  that  it  was 
three  of  the  king's  servants  who  waited  upon  him  day  by  day 
in  turn  that  had  stolen  the  ring  between  them. 

So  one  day,  when  one  of  the  servants  came  into  his  room  and 
cleared  away  the  table  after  supper,  and  was  just  about  leaving 
the  room,  the  charcoal-burner  heaved  a  deep  sigh  and  looked  after 
him  and  said : 

"  There  goes  the  first  of  them  "  ;  but  he  only  meant  the  first  of 
the  three  days  he  still  had  to  live.  "  This  parson  knows  all  about 
it,"  said  the  servant,  when  he  got  his  comrades  by  themselves, 
and  told  them  that  the  parson  had  said,  "  that  he  was  the  first  of 
them." 

The  second  servant,  who  was  to  wait  upon  him  the  next  day, 
was  to  notice  what  he  would  say  then,  and  sure  enough,  as  he 
was  going  out  after  having  cleared  the  table,  the  charcoal-burner 
gazed  steadily  at  him,  sighed  and  said  :  "  There  goes  the  second 
of  them."  So  the  third  servant  was  to  observe  what  happened 
the  third  day;  it  got  worse  and  worse  he  thought,  for  when 
the  servant  came  to  the  door  and  was  going  out  with  all  the  plates 
and  dishes,  the  charcoal-burner  folded  his  hands  and  said  :  "  There 
goes  the  third  of  them,"  and  then  he  sighed  as  if  his  heart  would 
break. 

The  servant  came  breathlessly  out  to  his  comrades  and  told  them 
it  was  clear  enough  that  the  parson  knew  all  about  it,  and  so  they 
went  into  his  room  and  fell  on  their  knees  before  him,  and  prayed 
and  begged  of  him,  that  he  would  not  tell  it  was  they  who  had 
taken  the  ring  ;  they  would  give  him  a  hundred  dollars  each,  if  he 
only  would  not  bring  them  into  trouble. 

He  promised  faithfully,  that  no  one  should  get  into  trouble  if  he 
got  the  money,  the  ring,  and  a  lump  of  porridge.  He  put  the  ring 
into  the  porridge,  and  told  one  of  them  to  give  it  to  the  biggest 
pig  belonging  to  the  king. 

Next  morning  the  king  came  ;  it  was  easy  to  see  he  would  not 
be  played  with ;  he  would  know  all  about  the  thief. 

"  Well,  I  have  written  and  reckoned  far  and  wide,"  said  the  char- 
coal-burner, "  but  I  find  it's  not  a  man  who  has  stolen  the  ring." 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER. 


"  Pooh  !  who  is  it  then  ? "  said  the  king.  "  Oh,  it's  that  big  pig 
which  belongs  to  your  majesty,"  said  the  charcoal-burner. 

Well,  they  brought  out  the  pig  and  killed  it,  and,  sure  enough,  the 
ring  was  found  inside  it.  So  the  charcoal-burner  got  a  living,  and 
the  king  was  so  pleased  that  he  gave  him  a  farm  and  horse  and 
a  hundred  dollars  in  the  bargain.  It  did  not  take  the  charcoal- 
burner  long  to  move,  and  the  first  Sunday  after  he  had  settled  in 


his  parish  he  was  go:ng  to  church  to  read  his  first  sermon.  But 
before  he  started  he  had  to  get  some  breakfast,  and  so  he  put  the 
sermon  on  the  bread  plate ;  but  he  made  a  mistake  and  took  the 
sermon  instead  of  the  bread,  and  dipped  it  into  the  soup,  and  when 
he  felt  it  was  so  tough  to  chew,  he  gave  it  all  to  his  dog,  and  the 
dog  made  short  work  of  it  and  swallowed  it  all. 

When  he  found  out  his  mistake,  he  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 
But  he  had  to  go  to  church,  for  his  congregation  was  waiting  for 
him  ;  and  when  he  came  there,  he  went  straight  up  into  the  pulpit 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER.  313 

He  put  on  such  a  grand  air  while  he  was  getting  ready  for  the 
sermon,  that  all  thought  he  must  be  a  very  fine  preacher.  But 
when  he  did  begin,  it  wasn't  so  very  fine  after  all. 

"  The  words,  my  dear  brethren,  which  you  were  going  to  hear 
this  day,  have  gone  to  the  dogs  ;  but  come  again,  some  other 
Sunday,  my  dear  parishioners,  and  you  shall  hear  something  else  ! 
And  thus  endeth  this  sermon  !  " 

Well,  all  the  people  thought  he  was  a  queer  parson,  for  they 
had  never  heard  such  a  sermon  ;  but  then  they  thought  he  might 
improve,  and  if  not — why,  they  would  know  how  to  deal  with  him. 
Next  Sunday  the  church  was  so  crowded  by  people  who  wanted 
to  hear  the  new  parson,  that  there  was  scarcely  room  for  them  all 
in  the  church.  As  soon  as  the  parson  arrived,  he  went  straight  up 
into  the  pulpit,  and  then  he  stood  for  some  time  without  saying  a 
word,  but  all  at  once  he  made  a  start  and  cried  out :  "  I  say,  old 
mother  Berit,  why  do  you  sit  so  far  back  in  the  church  ?  " — "  Oh, 
my  boots  are  in  such  a  bad  state,  your  reverence!"  said  she. — 
"  But  you  could  have  got  an  old  pig's  skin  and  made  yourself  a  new 
pair  of  boots,  and  then  you  could  have  come  to  the  front  like 
other  decent  people. — Besides,  I  wish  you  would  all  consider  which 
way  you  are  going,  for  I  see  that  some  of  you,  when  you  are 
coming  to  church,  come  from  the  north,  and  others  come  from  the 
south,  and  the  same  when  you  leave  church ;  but  I  suppose  you 
stop  and  gossip  on  the  way,  and  then  they  wonder  at  home 
what  has  become  of  you.  Yea  !  who  knows  what  will  become  of 
us  all  ?  And  then  I  have  to  give  notice,  that  the  old  parson's 
widow  has  lost  her  black  mare.  She  had  fetlocks  round  her 
hoofs,  and  a  long  mane,  and  more  of  this  kind  which  I  sha'n't 
mention  in  this  place.  And  then  I  have  a  big  hole  in  my  old 
breeches  pocket,  which  I  know,  but  you  don't !  But  whether  any 
of  you  have  a  piece  of  some  stuff,  which  would  suit  the  hole, 
neither  you  nor  I  know." 

Some  of  the  people  were  well  satisfied  with  the  sermon,  and 
believed  that  he  in  time  would  make  a  good  parson,  but  most  of 
them  thought  it  was  really  too  bad  ;  and  when  the  dean  came  round 
on  one  of  his  visits,  they  complained  to  him  of  the  parson  and 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER. 


said  that  such  sermons  were  never  heard  before,  and  one  of  them 
happened  to  recollect  the  last  one  about  the  old  widow's  mare  and 
repeated  it  all  to  the  dean. 

"  That  was  a  very  good  sermon,"  said  the  dean  ;  "  he  spoke  very- 
likely  in  parables  and  impressed  upon  you  to  seek  the  light  and  to 
shun  the  darkness  and  its  deeds,  when  he  spoke  about  those 
who  were  walking  on  the  broad  or  the  narrow  road  ;  and  par- 
ticularly do  I  consider  his  notice  about  the  old  widow's  mare  a 
splendid  parable  as  to  how  it  will  fare  with  us  all  in  the  end.  The 
breeches  pocket  with  the  hole  in  it  referred  to  his  wants,  and  the 
piece  of  stuff  was  the  offerings  and  gifts  he  expected  from  his 
congregation,"  said  the  dean. 

"  Yes,  we  thought  as  much,"  they  said  ;  "  it  was  all  about  his 
offerings,  sure  enough  !  " 

And  so  the  dean  said  that  he  thought  the  parish  had  got 
such  a  good,  sensible  parson,  that  they  should  not  complain  of  him, 
and  the  end  was,  that  they  got  no  other  parson  ;  but  as  time  wore 
on  he  got  worse  instead  of  better,  and  so  they  complained  to 
the  bishop. 

Well,  after  a  long  time  the  bishop  came  round  on  a  visitation, 
but  the  charcoal-burner  had  been  in  the  church  the  day  before 
without  anybody  knowing  of  it,  and  had  sawed  the  pulpit  in 
several  places,  so  it  only  hung  together  when  one  walked  up  the 
steps  carefully. 

So  when  the  congregation  had  assembled,  and  the  parson  was  to 
preach  before  the  bishop,  he  stole  quietly  up  the  steps  and  began 
his  sermon  in  his  usual  style,  but  after  having  gone  on  for  some 
time  he  spoke  up,  threw  up  his  arms,  and  cried  out  : 

"  If  there  is  any  one  here,  who  has  any  evil  deed  or  thought 
in  his  mind,  it  were  better  he  left  this  place,  for  to-day,  this  very 
day,  there  will  be  a  fall,  the  like  of  which  has  not  taken  place 
since  the  creation  of  the  world  ;  "  and  with  that  he  struck  the 
pulpit  with  his  hands,  and  down  tumbled  both  pulpit  and 
parson  with  such  a  crash,  that  the  congregation  took  to  their 
heels  and  ran  out  of  the  church,  as  if  the  day  of  judgment  had 
come. 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER.  315 

So  the  bishop  told  the  people  that  he  wondered  that  the  con- 
gregation could  complain  of  a  parson,  who  was  so  gifted  and  had 
such  wisdom,  that  he  could  prophesy  things  that  were  to  come. 
He  thought  he  ought  at  least  to  be  dean,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  was  made  one.  There  was  no  help  for  it ;  they  had  to 
put  up  with  him. 

Now  it  so  happened,  that  the  king  and  queen  in  that  country 
had  no  children,  but  when  the  king  heard  that  he  was  to  have  one 
he  was  curious  to  know  whether  he  was  to  get  a  son  and  heir  to 
his  broad  lands  and  acres,  or  if  he  only  would  get  a  princess.  So 
all  the  learned  men  in  the  land  were  called  to  the  palace  to  say 
which  it  would  be.  But  as  none  of  them  were  able  to  do  this, 
both  the  king  and  the  bishop  happened  to  think  of  the  new 
dean,  and  it  did  not  take  long  till  they  had  him  brought 
before  them  and  began  questioning  him.  No,  he  could  not  tell, 
he  said,  for  it  wasn't  easy  to  guess  what  no  one  could  know 
anything  about. 

"  Well,  well !  "  said  the  king,  "  I  don't  care  whether  you  know  it 
or  not  ;  but  you  are  the  wise  parson  and  the  true  prophet,  who  can 
foretell  things  to  come,  and  if  you  won't  tell  me,  you'll  lose  both 
your  gown  and  your  ruff!  But  never  mind,  I'll  give  you  a  trial 
first,"  and  so  he  took  the  biggest  silver  tankard  he  had  and  went 
down  to  the  sea  shore  with  the  parson.  "  Can  you  tell  me  now, 
what  I  have  got  in  this  tankard  ? "  said  the  king  ;  "  and  if  so,  you 
cancel!  me  the  other  thing  I  asked  you  as  well,"  and  he  held  the 
lid  of  the  tankard  tight.  The  charcoal-burner  wrung  his  hands  in 
despair  and  cried  :  "  Oh,  you  unfortunate  crawling  crab  of  this 
earth,  what  have  you  now  in  return  for  all  your  toil  and  trouble !  " 
"  Ah,  there  you  see  !  You  did  know  it  after  all ! "  said  the  king, 
for  he  had  put  a  crab  in  the  tankard. 

So  the  charcoal-burner  had  to  go  back  to  the  palace,  where  he 
was  shown  into  the  queen's  drawing-room.  He  took  a  chair  and 
sat  down  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  while  the  queen  walked  up  and 
down  the  floor. 

"  One  should  never  make  a  stall  for  the  unborn  calf,  and  never 
quarrel  about  the  baby's  name  before  it  is  born,"  said  the  charcoal- 


THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER. 


burner,  "  but  I  never  saw  anything  like  this  before ;  when  the 
queen  comes  towards  me,  I  fancy  it  will  be  a  prince,  and  when  she 
walks  away  from  me,  it  seems  to  me  as  if  it  will  be  a  princess." 
It  turned  out  in  time  to  be  twins,  and  so  the  charcoal-burner  had 
made  a  lucky  hit  that  time  also.  And  thus  for  telling  what  no 
one  could  know  anything  about  he  got  loads  of  money,  and  he 
became  next  man  to  the  king.  Snip,  snap,  snout,  that  man 
knew  what  he  was  about. 


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